Inertia
by Silver Thunder
Summary: Long-standing romantic issues are much easier to sort out without an ambitious spirit making things complicated. Aang/Katara, Zuko/Mai, Sokka/Suki, Toph/Sokka
1. Chapter 1

**Inertia**

**Part One**

One of those things about reunions, Katara had noticed, was that usually you were lucky to get _most_ of the people you wanted to see together in one place at one time. After all, everyone had different schedules and busy times, and there were all those appointments and emergencies that kept cropping up here and there. It was pretty rare to get them all.

So, all in all, she thought it was pretty impressive that over three years after they'd all started going their separate ways, this time they were only out two people.

"So why was it that Suki and Ty Lee couldn't make it?" Mai slid down another one of her Pai-shou tiles in response to Katara's last move.

"According to Suki, the winter solstice is a pretty big deal on Kyoshi Island," Katara answered, studying the board carefully. She was still new to the game, and wasn't entirely sure if she'd been making good moves or bad ones so far. "She and the other Kyoshi Warriors have been practicing for a demonstration of some kind for a long time now."

"Is that why Sokka's acting like someone kicked his dog or something?" Toph commented, from where she sat in the chair near their table. She was leaning back precariously, one ankle resting on the other leg's thigh. "He wasn't this mopey last time I saw him - and it wasn't that long ago."

Katara wasn't sure 'mopey' was the word she would've used. She looked over at her brother, who was holding some kind of conversation with Zuko's uncle. The expression on his face was irritable, but it didn't seem like he was doing much of the talking. "He's been crabby ever since we picked him up," she agreed. "The trip here wasn't a lot of fun."

Mai glanced at her, almost questioningly. "Don't you guys all travel together? I just got that impression somehow..."

"Sort of." Katara finally made up her mind and placed the tile, looking up with a small smile. "Aang and I move around a lot. I guess you could say the South Pole is home, but we're only there about as often as we are anywhere else. Aang even has a house here in Ba Sing Se it was given to him the first time we came to the city."

"I don't know if I'd call it the _same_ house," Toph corrected, dryly. "Considering how many times it's been blown up and rebuilt since we took it over."

Katara shrugged. "Close enough. Anyway, usually Sokka and Toph and sometimes Suki are with us, but Toph never comes to the South Pole - "

"Well, I can't exactly do anyone much _good_ there." She knocked one foot against the leg of her chair, meaningfully. "It's not like I can see through snow and ice or anything."

" - and Sokka sometimes stays with Suki on Kyoshi Island while Aang, Toph, and I deal with 'emergencies'." Katara rolled her eyes upward. "Though I could say something about _some_ people's definition of the word..."

"I said it then and I'll say it again: teaching the Earth King not to get bullied by his advisors doesn't count as an emergency." Toph made a face. "Not to mention the fact that it's totally _boring_."

Katara shrugged, with a bit of a smile. "She said it, not me."

"I could've told you that." Mai put down another tile, and then looked up again. "Even before I agreed to marry him, I'd still go to most of Zuko's conferences. When someone makes an actual point it's all right, but politicians really like to talk a lot about nothing."

"I wish they'd _literally_ talk about nothing," Toph snorted, and blew out her bangs. "It'd make those stupid meetings a lot shorter - and quieter."

They'd had this conversation a few too many times. Katara picked up on another thread instead. "When did you and Zuko decide to have the wedding?"

"I don't think either of us is thinking that far ahead yet," Mai admitted wryly. "He only just asked me last week - and of course the whole Fire Nation knew about it the day after. Honestly, I'm pretty sure royal weddings are scheduled in by the people who run every other aspect of our lives: secretaries."

"Sounds boring," Toph commented blandly.

The corner of Mai's mouth quirked up in a smirk. "Oh, it has its perks."

"I really don't think I want to know what those are." Katara shook her head. "I already know way more than I want to about Sokka's love life - I can live without hearing the details of someone else's."

"You can say that again," Toph muttered. "Sokka talks too much."

Katara glanced over at her curiously, but the expression on the younger girl's face was inscrutable. "I still don't really know why Suki's put up with him for so long," she commented dryly, letting it pass. "Have you ever listened to his pick-up lines?" She made a gagging motion.

"I'm starting to think bad pick-up lines are something most men are born with," Mai remarked, smiling faintly. "You should hear some of the ones Zuko _still_ uses on me. Talk about corny."

"Yeah, Aang has given me a few cheesy ones, too." Katara added another of her tiles, and then shrugged. "So maybe you're right."

"Twinkle-Toes uses pick-up lines? That's news to me." Toph quirked an eyebrow. "Did he pull the whole 'oh sorry, I only set up one tent' bit? Or does have more than half a brain?"

"Huh? Oh... no." Katara felt a bit of warmth rising to her cheeks at the implication. "No, Aang wouldn't do that." Not that she was totally against the idea of it... but it made her feel guilty whenever it crossed her mind - especially considering the situations that would cause the thought to come up. Aang was only sixteen, after all - he couldn't be anywhere near ready for _that_. So, she was going to wait - kisses only, and that was that. "I like to think he's more of a gentleman than that," she added, with a bit of a smile.

Toph looked around sceptically - from Sokka to Zuko, and then even to Iroh. "He's the only one in _this_ room, if that's the case," she remarked, after a brief moment.

"Toph!" Katara glanced apologetically at Mai. She had never really gotten to know Zuko's fiance that well, and wasn't sure whether a statement like that might offend her. "Sorry."

Mai shrugged. "It's true," she said, almost offhand, and one side of her mouth twitched up just a bit as she pushed another tile onto the board.

Toph grinned triumphantly. "Told you."

"O-kay... that's about enough of _this_ conversation." Katara grimaced. She really didn't want to find out where it might lead. "What do you say we move on to - I don't know - the weather? It's been pretty warm for this time of year. You think?" She glanced back and forth between her two friends, waiting for a response.

"Whatever." Toph blew her bangs off her face with a short puff of air.

Mai sighed, rolling her eyes upward. "Could you pick something _more_ boring?" she muttered, crossing her arms.

_Boy, what a great pair I got stuck with..._ Before she could think of some suitable response, though, Katara found herself presented with a teacup - seemingly from out of nowhere.

"You looked like you could use one," Aang said with a lopsided smile when she'd jerked her eyes up to meet his.

"Thanks, Aang." Katara felt the grateful smile spreading on her face as she reached to take the cup from him. The smell wafting up from it was soothing enough to wash away her irritation.

"No problem. So" - he pulled up a chair next to hers and eyed the game board - "who's winning?"

"I am," Mai answered without hesitation.

"I'll say." Zuko had come up behind his fiance; he raised his eyebrow at the placement of the tiles, and then glanced at Katara. "Even I could do better than that, and I hate this game."

She frowned at him. "Hey, I'm still learning to play, okay? Give me a break here."

"If you want to learn, I could teach you." Aang shrugged, and offered her a careless sort of grin. "Gyatso and I used to play all the time. I even beat him sometimes."

"Y'know, I never got why this game is so popular." Sokka slumped into a chair on Katara's other side, near Toph, and scowled at the board. "It doesn't make any logical sense, and if you ask me, sitting around staring at a bunch of painted tiles for hours on end does not sound like fun."

"It's not," Zuko told him flatly, and rolled his eyes upward. "Believe me, I have plenty of experience, and I wasn't even the one playing."

"I don't think you've _ever_ played," Mai pointed out, raising a sceptical eyebrow at him. "Of course you're going to think it's boring if all you're doing is watching."

"Pai Shou is a game of patience and endurance - without those, you won't find satisfaction in the experience of playing." Iroh looked down at the board as he spoke, and then grimaced. "But... skill is nice to have, too."

"Right. I think I'm done here." Katara pushed her chair away from the table, managing a rueful smile as she raised her cup to her lips. "I can recognize a hint when I hear it."

"Great. So does that mean we're finally going to do something _other_ than push painted rocks around a board?" Sokka crossed his arms, slouching even further in his seat.

"What have you got stuck up your butt?" Toph asked him bluntly, pushing her chair upright.

"Nothing!" Sokka sat up abruptly and threw his hands in the air with obvious frustration. "Would everyone stop with the stupid questions? All right, Suki ditched me for a festival - so what? What's with the third degree about it all the time, anyway? I'm perfectly okay with it! In fact, I'm glad she's not here! Maybe I need my space sometimes - ever think about that?" He looked from face to face, glaring.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence following his tirade.

"All I asked was why you're being such a jerk," Toph remarked, voice dry, and then titled her head unerringly in his direction. "But, never mind - I think I can guess now."

"Whatever. Are we done with the questions?" Sokka slumped back again. "Because if not, I'm totally going to bed - d'aaah - I mean, going outside! Right." He sat up all at once, hastily rushing right along with that train of thought. "I am totally _not_ going to bed, because I'm staying out all night. I mean, obviously. Right?"

Katara had turned sharply in the direction of her brother's gaze as his sentence derailed, and barely managed to catch Aang waving his hands furiously before he straightened abruptly and offered her an all-too-innocent smile. "Okaaaay," she said slowly, looking from one to the other warily.

Toph's fist connected solidly with Sokka's shoulder. "Good job." She stood. "Well, I'm going for more tea."

"I'll pour it for you," Iroh offered, following after her.

"Do you want some?" Zuko asked his fiance, moving around her chair.

"Yeah, why not?" Mai glanced down at the board, then pushed herself up. "I think this game is pretty much done, anyway."

"Well, I'm glad we all agree that I'm terrible at this," Katara muttered, frowning after the couple.

"You're still learning, that's all." Aang put a comforting hand on her shoulder, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "It just takes practice."

He was so tall now... It had been about two years since he'd passed her in height, and she still sometimes found herself surprised by it. Katara softened, turning to smile into his warm grey eyes. "Thanks, Aang."

Sokka cleared his throat meaningfully. "Hey, uh, guys? I'm still here. So, could you quit it with the whole lovey-dovey bit?"

Katara raised an eyebrow at him. "Says the guy who doesn't mind getting _loudly_ intimate with his girlfriend when someone's trying to sleep just one tent over."

"Hey, at least I had the tent." He crossed his arms loftily. "What do you guys have?"

"Well, we could have my house." Aang shrugged, and smiled at Katara. "What do you think? Call it a night?"

"Well..." It _was_ getting late. And they could always meet up with everyone again in the morning. Katara smiled back. "Sure, okay."

"Great!" He stood and turned in one smooth motion, holding out a hand to her. "Let's go, then."

"Tell everyone good night for me," Katara said to her brother, letting Aang help her up.

"Yeah." For some reason, his gaze was directed meaningfully at Aang. Katara glanced at her boyfriend, and found him returning the gaze just as seriously. When she looked back at Sokka, he abruptly sighed and leaned back in his chair. "See you in the morning. I guess."

Katara turned back to Aang as they walked out the door of the tea shop, puzzled. "What was that all about?"

He laughed a bit, almost nervously, and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Okay." Katara pushed the thought out of her mind - for the moment.

* * *

"So this is where you went? Outside?"

Sokka glanced away from the moon to look at Toph, standing near the top of the stairs that he was currently sitting on. "Maybe I needed some fresh air."

"Yeah, whatever." She moved down a few steps and then flopped beside him ungracefully. "You realize that by agreeing to stay out all night, you pretty much gave Aang the okay to nail your sister, right?"

_That_ was really something he'd rather not think about. "Y'know, I didn't need that visual, thanks." He turned back towards the moon again, with an aggrieved sigh. "And, for the record, I didn't give _anyone_ the okay. I'd just rather not be there if they really do decide to do... what I think they're going to do." He grimaced.

"You and me both." Toph tucked her hands behind her head, making a sour face. "You and Suki are bad enough."

"Again with the me and Suki stuff?" He frowned, not looking at her. The reminder still stung. It wasn't just the festival - that was part of it, yeah, but not all. They both had obligations - that was fine. They had lives outside of each other - also fine. It was just... well. It just _was_.

And he loved Suki so much - thought about her all the time, wanted to be around her whenever possible - that feeling like there was a rift between them really stunk.

"Just because I mention you and Suki doesn't mean I'm bringing up whatever fight you two had before coming here," Toph pointed out, in what Sokka felt was an unreasonably reasonable tone of voice. "You're the one who keeps on coming back to that, not me." She turned her sightless eyes unerringly in his direction; he could see it out of the corner of his eyes. "I _could_ ask why you're letting everyone else think it's because she's not here that you're upset, but I'm pretty sure you were hoping I didn't pick up on that, weren't you?"

Oh, right, the whole ability to pick up on people's emotions. Sokka sometimes found that trait really annoying. "Yeah, well... It's complicated."

"If you say so."

They sat in companionable silence for a moment.

That one of was the great things about Toph, Sokka considered. She didn't pry into his personal business. And the weird thing about that was, it made him want to tell her things more. Funny how that worked.

"I proposed to Suki," he said, after a quick moment of deliberation. "Just before Aang and Katara got there."

Toph frowned. "And... what? She said no?"

He turned to raise an eyebrow at her. "Would I be this upset if she didn't?"

"Good point." She shrugged. "So, did she give you a reason, or did she just scream and run for the hills, like any sane woman would do?"

"Ha ha." He shot her a sour look. "As a matter of fact, she did give me a reason. She said it 'wasn't the right thing for us right now'." He made exaggerated quoting motions as he spoke. "She said we both have obligations and that kind of commitment just wouldn't work until we've worked out a more solid arrangement between us."

"Makes sense to me." Toph's tone was neutral. "So what's the problem?"

"What's the problem?" He sat up abruptly, turning to glare at her. "The problem is that the girl I happen to be in _love_ with, who I want to _marry_, won't even talk about this stuff with me! I thought about solid arrangements! In fact, I thought a lot about them. For _months_." Not to mention tearing himself up with anxiety over just how he was going to word that stupid proposal. "And she won't even talk about it."

"So she actually _said_ 'I won't even talk about it'?" Toph mimicked his quoting motions. "Or you got all huffy and she told you to cool down and talk to her again when you could be a rational human being?"

Sokka opened his mouth to speak, and realized that any answer he could truthfully make to that was not going to be a flattering one. He deflated. "Okay, something like that _might_ have happened," he admitted, grudgingly, "but she still wouldn't talk about it afterwards!"

"Right." Toph rolled her eyes upward. "And I'll bet that's because you tried to start every discussion with something like 'so, gonna marry me yet?' until she got really ticked off and told you to take a hike. Isn't it?"

Why did she have to be so _right_ all the time? Sokka scowled at her. That was one of those really annoying things about Toph. "You just don't get it! You weren't there, and you don't know what was going on."

"Hey, whatever makes you sleep better at night." She shrugged again. "I'm just _saying_, if I were Suki" - for some reason, her expression tightened a bit at that - "I'd have smacked some sense into you a long time ago."

Later, Sokka would reason that he probably shouldn't have said what he did in answer to that. He wouldn't know exactly why, but it was definitely the worst thing to respond with. The implication was starting to sink in, though - the idea that the distance between him and Suki, the fact that the girl he loved and wanted desperately to marry and be with forever currently didn't even want him around, was entirely his fault. He couldn't stand it. Why was it always him? Why did he always wreck anything good that ever happened to him? Why couldn't he hold on to the things that mattered?

"Well, then it's a good thing I'm with Suki, isn't it?" he shot back, turning his back deliberately on her. "And not with you."

He expected some kind of jibe about how pig-boars would fly before she'd ever let _that_ happen, but all he got in return was a tense sort of silence.

"Uh." Why did things just turn awkward? Sokka half-turned. "... Toph?"

She stood, and he was a little surprised to see the hostile expression on her face. "Why don't you just stay out here with your hurt feelings, then," she suggested bluntly, and turned back up the stairs. "I'm going back in."

He stared at her retreating back. "Huh? But - what - ?"

The door closing sharply behind her was the only answer to his unspoken question.


	2. Chapter 2

**Inertia**

**Part Two**

Aang was acting a little weird, Katara had noticed. He seemed strangely on-edge; the hand that still held hers would tighten or loosen seemingly at random, and his posture was somewhat stiff. Even his conversation had a bit of a nervous tint to it, as if he couldn't quite focus properly on whatever they were talking about.

It was starting to make her a little worried.

"Is everything okay, Aang?" she asked finally, as they came up to the doorway of the house that had been given to him so long ago. "You've been acting pretty jumpy ever since we left the tea shop."

"Oh... uh... I'm fine." He paused in front of the door and gave her what was clearly meant to be a reassuring grin. It still had a noticeable anxiety to it. "But actually, I have a surprise for you."

That was enough to pique her interest. "What is it?"

"You'll see." He let go of her hand to get the door open, and held it wide for her. "Sorry - it's kind of dark in here, isn't it?"

"Maybe just a little." She blinked a few times - the room was nearly pitch black, and it didn't help that Aang let the door shut immediately behind them. "We should light a candle or something."

"Funny you should mention candles..." She felt him step up beside her, take in a deep breath, and then little tongues of fire were leaping from his fingers across the room - settling on the wicks of the candles he had obviously put in place earlier.

"Oh, wow..." Katara looked around the room, a little stunned. It wasn't just the candles; he'd gone for the whole deal, and decorated with flowers, too, artfully arranged around the candles and in boughs draped across the walls. The result was very romantic - if it weren't for the dim lights, Katara would've felt it reminded her of a wedding, but as it was the feeling was... slightly different. "You did all this just to surprise me?"

Aang shrugged. "Well, you know..." He was smiling at her in that sweet sort of way he did sometimes, his eyes dark with emotion. "I was thinking maybe tonight would be special."

It was hard to resist that look. Katara gazed back into his eyes as he stepped closer and brushed her cheek with fingers that shook just a little. She felt that familiar shiver of excitement in the pit of her stomach that came before he kissed her, and let her lips curve a bit in response. "Special?"

"Yeah." His voice was oddly hushed, and he was close enough now that she could feel that faint brush of his breath on her face as he spoke. He blinked several times, and stared at her as if enraptured. "I love you so much, Katara," he breathed, and pressed his lips to hers, sliding his hand down to cup the back of her neck.

Hearing those words from him before being kissed had to be the best feeling in the world. Katara broke from the kiss just long enough to murmur, "Love you too," against his lips, and then pushed back up into it enthusiastically.

That was enough to release the floodgate; Katara wasn't sure if her lips parted first or if Aang's did, but it didn't matter. Her arms slid around his waist; his free hand circled her shoulder and braced against her upper back.

"Katara." He pulled away from her mouth long enough to mumble her name, kissed her again, almost urgently, and then repeated, "Katara." He was breathing hard - so was she - but the air seemed to catch in his throat somehow when he lowered his head to brush his lips against the corner of her jaw. "Katara," he whispered again, lingering over the syllables.

Something about the way he said it made her shiver.

Her hands rested at the small of his back as he kissed his way slowly down her neck; she was aware of the feel of lean muscle under her fingers, and felt a pleasant little knot forming at the pit of her stomach. Those guilty thoughts and feelings were drifting in - the ones that fed into the ache slowly building in her loins. One day... one day that waist would be between her legs, skin uncovered by the cloth that served as a barrier against her hands now. One day she would be just as naked beneath him, and his hands would explore all of her, and his body would press against hers - into hers...

Katara bit her lip against a little sound that wanted to escape. Aang _couldn't_ know that she thought that way - it would make things too uncomfortable. He was still too young, even if he had the body of a man. He couldn't be ready for _that_.

... those couldn't be his hands pulling back the fabric of her wrap from her neck so his mouth could follow the line of her shoulder.

He must have felt the way she tensed at that, because he pulled up again, fingers trailing lightly over the exposed skin, and his warm breath tickled her ear as he breathed out, "Katara, I want to - with you - I want to - "

"Aang." It was the sound of her own voice that broke Katara out of trance; that, and the reality of what he had just been about to suggest. The shock was like a bucket of cold water thrown over her head. She moved her hands around to brace them against his sides and pushed herself back from his hold. "Wait."

He backed off immediately, staring at her with a certain amount of chagrin. "I'm sorry, Katara - I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable... I just thought - maybe - well..." Even in the dark, she could tell his face was growing red.

"It's all right. It's just..." She struggled for the right words; this was all wrong somehow, and she couldn't figure out how to properly express that. "Aang, I - "

"It's okay," he said hastily, staring earnestly at her. "You don't need to explain to me. You're not ready - I understand. We can wait. I won't bring it up again."

"_I'm_ not ready?" That was totally backwards. Katara frowned at him. "No, you're the one who's not ready."

"I won't pressure you or any - huh?" Aang stopped in mid-babble, and blinked at her in complete astonishment. "Did you just say what I think you just said? Because... it sounded like you said _I'm_ not ready."

"Aang, you're only sixteen." Katara crossed her arms over her chest defensively. He was going to fight her on this - she could see it already. "You don't know what you're getting into. This just isn't the sort of thing you can rush."

He stared at her; obviously, when considering the possible responses she might have had, this wasn't one that had come up. "Wait, wait, wait." He shook his head, holding out his hands. "Let me get this straight: _you're_ telling _me_ that _I'm_ not ready for this?"

He was twisting it around; Katara fought to keep her voice reasonable. "Aang, if you'd just listen for a - "

"Katara, I _planned_ this!" He threw up his hands, expression incredulous. "I've been planning this for months! You're seriously trying to tell me I don't know what I'm getting into?"

"Look..." Months? Aang, who did everything on the spur of the moment, who seemed to take great satisfaction in spontaneity, planned this... for months? Katara took in a breath, trying to draw a sense of calm around herself. "I know you think you're ready for this, but - "

"I _think_ I'm ready? Do you even hear yourself?" He looked thoroughly agitated by that point. "What makes you think I'm _not_ ready? And why are you the expert? Shouldn't I know my own feelings better than anyone else?"

"You're not even letting me explain!" Katara protested irritably.

"What else is there to explain? One - I'm too young. Two - I'm not ready for this, no matter what I think. Three - I don't know what I'm feeling or thinking." He ticked the points off on his fingers, equally irritated. "And apparently there's some magic age I need to hit when none of this stuff matters any more and I'm instantly good to go! Doesn't that cover what you're trying to say?"

"I never said that!" She could feel her face burning; it sounded so stupid when it was put like that... "You're putting words in my mouth!"

"Well, then what _are_ you saying, Katara?" Aang spread his arms wide, then let them flop back to his sides with obvious frustration. "What am I supposed to think when you tell me you're rejecting me because _I'm_ not ready?"

"I'm trying to keep you from doing something you'll regret! And isn't that being a little dramatic?" She turned away from him, fingers digging into her arms as she glared at the flickering candles to her left. "There's no reason to get mad just because I didn't go along with your little plan to get me to sleep with you."

"This isn't about that! Ugh!" Aang let out a long, furious breath. When he spoke again, his voice was deliberately calm. "You don't want to go that far? I have no problem with that. We can wait as long as you want. What I do have a problem with is you telling me that I'm somehow not old enough to know what I want." He paused for a brief moment, and then continued in a more subdued tone. "What else do you think I don't know about myself? Do you even believe me when I tell you that I love you?"

Her head shot up at that; she spun to face him again, stung. "How can you ask me that?"

"Well, what am I supposed to think?" he demanded; she noticed that his eyes weren't just angry - they were hurt, too. "If you really feel that way about this, why shouldn't you about other things too?"

"This is different!" How could he not see that?

"How? How is it different, Katara?" He sighed then, and pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes. "You know what? Don't answer that. I probably don't want to hear it." He turned abruptly away from her.

"Oh, right - just run away from it, then! Isn't that what you always do?" She glared after him. What right did he have to be hurt? All she was doing was looking out for him. "And where are you going, anyway?"

"To my room." He shot her something of a sullen look over his shoulder. "If that's _okay_."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, real mature."

"Well, I'm too young to know better, aren't I?" he retorted, turning huffily into the bedroom he'd claimed.

"You sure act like it sometimes!"

The door slammed shut behind him.

* * *

Meditation, Aang had found, was a really helpful way to get outside of a situation and see it from a much more neutral point of view. Once you could release those negative emotions, it was much easier to see another person's side of things.

Unfortunately, when it came to Katara, this hardly ever worked for him.

_Why is she so stubborn?_

He slumped forward with a sigh, staring down at his crossed ankles. Katara, Katara, Katara - the person who made him the happiest and who filled him with the most confusion and heartache and frustration. They'd come such a long way, been together for three great years, and although they'd had bad times here and there, he had thought their relationship was pretty solid by then. Enough so that he felt he could approach her about the whole sex thing without her refusing to speak to him, at least.

So why did he now feel like nothing at all had changed since he was thirteen years old?

"Ugh." Aang let himself flop backwards, spreading his arms out to either side and staring at the ceiling blankly. "What does she expect from me, anyway?" he wondered out loud. The way she'd made it sound, she still thought he was a kid who couldn't be trusted to make his own decisions.

_But that doesn't make sense - even when I _was_ a kid, I made a lot of really important decisions and she trusted me then._ He could feel his forehead wrinkling as he tried to puzzle his way through the argument. _What's so different about now?_

There was one unpleasant possibility. Aang pushed himself back up again, feeling that cold, hard knot forming at the pit of his stomach as he came back to the thought that had been haunting him since he'd retreated to his own room earlier that night. He didn't have any doubt that Katara loved him - he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't lie about something like that. But love was one thing, and physical attraction was another. If Katara still saw a thirteen-year-old every time she looked at him...

What if she just wasn't attracted to him like that?

"She has to be," he muttered to himself, frowning at the wall in front of him. They'd kissed so many times, and he'd held her, and her body had melded into his, and she'd given him that _look_ when they broke apart... It was part of the reason he'd been so optimistic about tonight. He was sure that she wanted him at least as much as he wanted her.

"Doesn't she?" he wondered, after another moment's thought. It had been a long time since he'd felt this much doubt about Katara's feelings, but... well... now that he thought about it, she didn't initiate stuff between them very often.

_That might be my fault, though._ He did kind of kiss her a lot... and hug her out of nowhere... and take hold of her hand whenever he could get away with it... So there weren't really a lot of times when she had the opportunity to start anything, because he was always doing it. But she always seemed really happy when he did those things, and seriously, who could possibly be Katara's boyfriend and not want to take advantage of it all the time? Even after three years of being with her, his fascination with her hadn't eased up one bit.

"I guess it really has always been me chasing after her," he acknowledged out loud, and sighed, disheartened.

These thoughts really weren't helping with the meditation. _I should stop thinking about it so much_, Aang decided, sitting up straight and shutting his eyes. He'd been with Katara for three years, and everything had been perfect. Everything was still perfect. This argument was nothing when compared to what a great bond they had. In fact, once Katara had the night to think about it, she'd probably realize how right he was. And how much she wanted him. Then she'd come right up to him and demand that he sweep her off her feet and take her right then and there, and they'd tear each other's clothing off and -

_Meditation thoughts, Aang,_ he reminded himself, trying to ignore the heat rapidly rising on his cheeks at the mental images he'd managed to create. _Calm and soothing stuff, remember?_

Those kinds of thoughts rarely came easily when he had Katara on his mind.

Something felt a little different this time, he noticed - in a detached sort of way - once he'd finally cleared his mind. It was a familiar feeling, but somehow subtly different from his usual meditations. It was like his surroundings had altered; but even without opening his eyes, he knew they were the same.

Strange.

That thought was still lingering at the back of his mind when he heard someone outside yell out, "Help! Someone, please!"

Aang's eyes shot open; he was out of his meditative pose and at the window an instant later. In the street outside, a woman in a dark cloak had fallen on the road; he could see her shaking uncontrollably even from that distance.

"I'll help you - hold on!" He bent himself quickly over the sill and out onto the front of his house before hurrying over to the prone form on the ground. "What's wrong?" he asked, crouching beside her.

"I'm sorry - I fell. I'm all right." She leaned heavily on him, and then raised her face.

Aang had trouble containing his shock. It wasn't Katara in front of him - he knew that - but the woman looked so much like her that it was difficult to tell the difference. "W-Well, good," he stuttered, caught off guard for a moment before he gave himself a shake and recovered his manners. "Let me help you up."

Instead of responding, she seemed to be studying his face intently. "So you're the Avatar." There was a strange, compelling sort of tone to her voice. "So young," she murmured, almost absently, and reached up to touch his cheek.

Aang blinked, a little startled, and fought the sudden urge to drop her and jump back at the feel of her fingers against his skin. "Uh... that's me." He tried a grin. "But you probably have places to be, so I'll just - "

"It's a girl, isn't it?" The woman's eyes were sharp as she studied him; it was so strange, to see that expression on a face that looked so similar to Katara's. "You see a girl when you look at me. No wonder your thoughts are so... troubled." She smiled thinly. "It's always a girl."

He did let go of her then, edging away subtly. Something wasn't right here. "What do you mean? Who are you?"

"There's no need for that." She straightened, still regarding him in a calculating sort of way. "But you know... I could soothe those thoughts for you." Her voice had something of a honeyed tone to it. "You don't need to tear yourself apart over her, you know."

Despite his wariness, Aang felt strangely fascinated with her words. It was like there was fog drifting in around his thoughts, but he couldn't manage to be alarmed over it. "I-I don't?" he mumbled.

"Of course not." She smiled again, and this time it was a soft, heavy-lidded sort of look. "I can fix it for you - make everything better. Didn't you know?"

He stared dumbly at her. "I didn't know that..."

"Well, then you're fortunate that I found you, aren't you?" She stood and held her hand down to him, still smiling in that appealing sort of way. "Just come with me, and I'll take care of everything."

He was already bringing up his hand to grasp onto hers, almost without thinking about it, but he halted just a few inches from doing so, hesitant. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll give you dreams," she replied, and lowered her eyelashes almost coyly. "Dreams you can pick and choose from, keep in your memory as if they were real, and" - her smile curved up, promisingly - "in every single one, you and she will be together. Just the way you want it."

_Katara..._ He wasn't sure if it was longing, or the unclouded corner of his mind calling out for help. Aang reached out and grasped the woman's hand.

Her smile widened; the gaze that held his shifted beyond him, suddenly.

When he turned to follow her stare, confused, he saw the light from the candle he'd left in his room - and beside it, bare chested and with its tattoos glowing brightly, was his own body.

Before he could do much more than widen his eyes in alarm, the hand that clutched his gave a sudden tug, and he was pulled into darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Inertia**

**Part Three**

When Katara woke the morning after her fight with Aang, she was already beginning to feel twinges of guilt. They stayed with her as she dressed and washed up, gradually becoming more pressing with every passing moment. She expected she'd have to wait to find a time when she could get Aang alone to talk about it, but, somewhat surprisingly, when she wandered out into the hall, she found Toph's and Sokka's rooms still open and empty from the night before.

Well... at least now she knew the reason for the strange exchanges between her boyfriend and brother the night before. Obviously Aang _had_ been planning this for some time.

_And I could've been easier on him about it._ Katara eyed the closed door of his room hesitantly. She was still convinced that she was right - Aang would thank her for it later - and that nobly setting aside her desires was going to make this a far better experience for them both in the end. But maybe she hadn't been sensitive enough to his feelings when she turned him down. There were probably more diplomatic ways she could've gone got her point across that wouldn't have hurt his pride as much.

_Maybe I should talk to him about it._ That decided, she stepped up to the door and knocked lightly.

There was no response from inside.

"Aang?" Katara waited a few seconds - when she still didn't get an answer, she sighed. "I know you're probably still mad about last night, but I think we need to talk. Can I come in?"

Still nothing.

Katara let out another slightly irritated breath. _Why is he always so stubborn?_ "If you don't want me in there, you'd better say something, because otherwise I'm coming in," she announced.

Several seconds of silence later, she turned the handle and swung the door open. "Aang, if you'd just - " She caught sight of the glowing form of her boyfriend on the floor in his meditative pose, and stopped. "Oh. I guess you really couldn't answer me, could you?"

Had he been in the Spirit World all night?

_Not helping with the guilt here._ Katara sighed, bending a little to put a hand on Aang's shoulder. His skin felt a bit cool, which probably confirmed her suspicions. "I don't know if you can hear me, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry about last night," she said, a bit hesitantly. "I think we both said a few things we shouldn't have."

It was weird talking to him like this. Katara straightened. "Well... I guess we can talk about it when you get back."

He'd been to the Spirit World several times in the past few years, and always without incident, so Katara had a hard time explaining to herself why she felt an uneasy lump settling at the pit of her stomach as she slowly closed the door to Aang's room again.

* * *

Breakfast - if it could be called that at almost noon - was not exactly what Sokka had hoped for. "Doesn't your uncle cook anything other than this mucky-looking goop?" he complained, tilting his bowl to the side and making a face as the white paste slowly oozed downward. "Because if not, I'm surprised his customers don't walk out on him."

Zuko didn't look impressed. "It's a tea shop, not a restaurant. And if you don't like it, you're free to leave." He nodded in the direction of the door that led out of Iroh's tiny apartment.

"Wish I could join you." Mai sighed, pushing her bowl forward. "You'd think I'd be used to this by now..."

"You guys are too delicate." Toph wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and set down her bowl. "I've seriously had worse than this stuff."

"Hey, I've had worse too, but that doesn't mean I can't have standards." Sokka set down the bowl, crossing his arms. "And right now my standards are telling me that it's probably time to go look for something else to eat. Preferably something that doesn't look - and smell - like glue. No offence to your uncle's cooking," he added, with a glance at Zuko.

"We could just go back to the house." Toph shrugged, leaning back on her hands. "I'm pretty sure that night we agreed to stay away for ended a while ago. Anyway, if they're not done whatever Aang was hoping they'd be doing by now, then I'd say they're going about it wrong."

Zuko blinked at her. "You guys agreed to stay away from the house last night?"

Toph raised an eyebrow at him. "That's a big 'duh'."

"Seriously. Why else would we be here?" Sokka added. "I mean, not that your uncle's not a great host and everything, but sleeping somewhere other than the floor would've been nice."

"Wow." Mai looked only mildly surprised; she smirked a bit. "How much did you make off of _that_ bribe?"

"Enough." Toph grinned.

"The thing I'm wondering" - Zuko's eyebrows were still up near his hairline - "is how _you_ got talked into it." He directed a very pointed look at Sokka. "I mean, considering the implications..."

"I could do without a reminder," Sokka responded flatly. Why did everyone feel the need to bring it up? His sister's love life was not one of his favourite topics. "But, to answer your question, it's not like I can stop them if they really want to do it anyway, and I'm not exactly interested in being there to 'share' in the experience."

"Yeah, no kidding." Toph made a gagging face.

Zuko's eyebrows came down. "Fair enough."

"Can't blame you for that," Mai added dryly.

"Aaaaand... I'd say we're done with this conversation." Sokka pushed himself to his feet. "I'm going in search of something a little more edible than whatever's in that bowl. Thank your uncle for me, though, will you?"

"Sure."

Toph stood as well. "Tell him I'll take him up on that offer he made last night some time before we leave the city." She shrugged, with a bit of a grin. "Not like we won't be hanging around here anyway, but still."

Sokka stared at her as the apartment door shut behind them. "What offer?" he asked, letting her go first down the stairs.

She turned just enough to raise an eyebrow at him. "Do I pry into _your_ private conversations?"

"Okay, okay." He held up both hands in a placating manner. "Just thought I'd ask. Sorry."

The silence between them had never felt so awkward. Sokka rubbed at the back of his neck uncomfortably as he followed her to the street that would lead them back to Aang's house. He felt like he should apologize for pissing her off the night before, but he wasn't really sure how to start. Come to think of it, he wasn't really sure what he was apologizing for.

It made figuring out how to word things a little difficult.

"Y'know, you don't need to act like I'm going to blow up on you or anything." Toph shot him a 'look'. "I'm not like Suki; I don't care if you get on my nerves once in a while." She grinned then, almost wolfishly. "Trust me, if I were really pissed off, I'd make sure you knew it."

"Really?" Sokka didn't wait for her to confirm that; he let out a long breath, clapping one hand over his chest a bit theatrically. "That is a _huge_ relief. You know, when I say the wrong thing to Suki, sometimes she won't talk to me for days. Not even to tell me what I did wrong!"

"Yeah, you'd think she'd realize by now that everything you do is wrong," Toph quipped.

"I kn - Hey!"

She completely ignored his glare. "Besides, you usually manage to figure things out. And I think Suki likes that screw-things-up-and-put-your-foot-in-your-mouth-over-it side of you sometimes."

He frowned at her. "Thanks. That's _real_ encouraging."

"No problem." She smiled.

"You have this really bad habit of - " Sokka broke off in the middle of his sentence, his thoughts interrupted when they rounded the corner and he caught sight of his sister pacing - with quick, agitated steps - around the front door of Aang's house. Her face was knotted with anxiety.

Toph voiced the thought first: "This is probably a bad sign, isn't it?"

At the sound of her voice, Katara jerked to a halt. "Where have you been?" she demanded, stalking out to meet them. "I've been waiting for hours!"

"Well, it's not like we had an appointment!" Sokka raised his hands defensively. "How were we supposed to know you were waiting for us? Why didn't you just come up to the tea shop and say so?"

Surprisingly, that seemed to quiet her. Katara glanced aside, pressing her hands together anxiously. "I didn't want to leave Aang by himself," she answered in a much more subdued tone.

A cold trickle of alarm was making its way into Sokka's thought process. "Why? What happened to him?"

"I don't know. I mean, he's in the Spirit World." She looked back up at him, and he got the impression that she was trying to seem less worried than she actually was. That had never worked for her. "Maybe I shouldn't be worrying, but I think he's been gone all night, and now it's been all morning, and it's just..." She spread her arms helplessly. "He's never done that before, not without telling someone first. I have a really bad feeling - I'm sure that something's wrong, but I don't know what."

It _was_ weird for Aang not to be telling Katara what he was doing. But still... Sokka frowned. "Even if that's true, what can we do about it? None of us know how to get into the Spirit World, so it's not like we can go looking for him."

"There is one person who might be able to help us out," Toph suggested. "Iroh once told me he went on a journey to the Spirit World. If he did it once before, then he could know a way for us to do it now." She didn't wait for an answer, turning back the way they'd just come. "I'll go ask him."

* * *

Aang flopped down into the snowdrift behind him, laughing so hard that he almost couldn't breathe. The sky was clear, the sun was out, and the day was bright. It was perfect.

"Oh, very funny!" Katara stood above him, trying unsuccessfully to look stern with her hands placed on her hips. A smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Sokka's going to kill you when he figures out what just happened."

The laughter was subsiding; Aang wiped at his eyes and fixed his girlfriend with an unconcerned smile. "He'll _try_."

She shook her head and sighed, rolling her eyes upward as she sank down beside him. "Remind me again why I date you."

He grinned at her; they had been together long enough now that he knew he could get away with being cheeky. When he sat up, their shoulders brushed, and it felt like warmth spread from that part of his body all through the rest of it. "My irresistible charm?" he suggested, wagging his eyebrows.

Katara's answering smile had a teasing edge. "If you can call it that," she bantered, and lowered her eyelids, fixing him with a heady stare. "I think it's just because you're a good kisser."

Aang's heart began to pound; he swallowed, and tried to keep his voice light. Cool. He could be cool. "Maybe we should test that," he responded, leaning his head towards her. Their faces were close; he could feel her breath on his cheek.

"Maybe we should." Her eyes were shut; she closed the distance between them, and their lips met.

Aang slid one hand free of its mitten and reached up to brush his fingers over Katara's cheek, exalting in the knowledge that she was _here_, with him, wanting to kiss him, pressing into his touch.

The sky was clear, the sun was out, and the day was bright. Katara was kissing him. It was perfect.

His vision blurred; Aang found himself staring at his own closed eyelids, his body curled loosely on its side, lying on something soft. He felt a moment of disorientation; there was no blue sky or snow, and certainly no Katara. It was just a memory, vivid as it might have been. He was alone.

Except... not.

"Another dream, Avatar?"

He was starting to hate that voice. Aang wanted to open his eyes, take in his surroundings - definitely figure some way out of this mess. He wasn't even tied up; nothing held him down. But he couldn't seem to order his body to move. It was like he was asleep still.

Something thin and cold touched the base of his neck, sliding down his spine and lingering at the small of his back; Aang would have recoiled from it if he could. His jaw tensed, teeth trying to clench. He could feel them brush together, very slightly.

At least that was something.

"Don't worry," the voice continued, either not noticing or just ignoring his struggles, "I'll make sure it's a good one. I promised, didn't I?"

The dark amusement didn't escape him. Aang inwardly seethed in frustration.

_She's just playing with me..._

"I'll be keeping an eye on that body of yours in the mortal world, too." The cold touch left him then. "You can count on _that_."

Part of him wanted to be alarmed about that statement, but that strange fuzzy dreaminess was settling over him again, and he found himself unwittingly sinking away from the reality of his situation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Inertia**

**Part Four**

"How long would you say he's been like this now?" Iroh asked after a moment of contemplating the Avatar's cross-legged form.

Katara let out the breath she'd been holding. "I'm not sure exactly," she admitted, uncomfortably aware that all attention was now on her. "He was like this when I checked on him this morning. See, last night, we were - "

"Do I really want to hear this?" Sokka interrupted, looking pained.

"We were _arguing_," Katara ground out, glaring at her brother, "and he came in here and shut the door. He could've gone to the Spirit World any time after that." She crossed her arms and deliberately ignored the blush she could feel rising on her face.

They _all_ knew, even Zuko and Mai - she could tell by the awkward silence that fell and the glances they were exchanging that they probably didn't think she noticed.

_Ugh. Aang, I am so killing you when this is over..._

Iroh cleared his throat, effectively breaking the moment. "I think it might be wise if we made the attempt to follow after him. The timing of this is just a little too convenient, with the solstice approaching." He smiled then. "But the timing can work in our favour as well."

"How do you mean?" Zuko asked, frowning.

"The easiest way for an ordinary person to pass from our world to the Spirit World," Iroh answered him, "is at a time close to the solstice - with the aide of a spirit guide."

"And just where are we planning on getting a spirit?" Sokka cut in, looking sceptical. "I'm not exactly on a first name basis with a lot of them - well, except for Princess Yue, but the North Pole is halfway across the world and - "

"Hei Bai!" Katara snapped her fingers, brightening as the idea hit her.

Sokka gave her a funny look. "Who?"

"Don't you remember?" She was already feeling more optimistic about this. "The spirit of the forest near Senlin Village - he pulled you and a bunch of the villagers into the Spirit World once before, and Aang said when he was in the Spirit World that time at the North Pole, Hei Bai helped him out."

"Senlin Village is pretty far west of here," Mai pointed out, dryly. "Can you make it before the solstice?"

"Appa will get us there on time," Katara said confidently, and looked around at them. "So, what do you guys say? Are we going to Senlin Village?"

"All of us?" Zuko's eyebrows went up.

"Well... yeah." Katara blinked at him. "Don't you want to help save Aang?"

"I wouldn't recommend it." Iroh was frowning thoughtfully at Aang's still form. "I don't believe we should leave his body alone for too long right now."

"No, of course not," Katara agreed, looking at him with some surprise. "We'd take him with us, wouldn't we?"

"No." The suddenness of Iroh's refusal had them all staring at him. "The solstice is far too close. I suspect taking the Avatar's unoccupied body to a place where the boundary between our world and the Spirit World has thinned would be a bad move on our part."

It felt like a chill passed over her at the term 'unoccupied body'. Katara crossed her arms, looking over at Aang helplessly. It was partly her fault, wasn't it, that he was in this mess? Who knew what could have happened to him this time? "What should we do?"

"That's obvious, isn't it?" Zuko answered, glancing sideways at her. "Someone's going to have to stay behind and make sure nothing happens to him."

"I'll do that." Toph folded her arms, raising an eyebrow when the others turned to stare at her. "What? You can't bend in the Spirit World. I wouldn't even be able to see, much less help anyone out. At least if something happens here, I might be useful."

"I'll stay too." Sokka shrugged then, looking almost too casual. "I'm not too anxious to get dragged off to the Spirit World by a giant bear _again_. Besides, Toph's going to need to sleep sometimes, right? It's better if we have two people here instead of just one."

"Well, I'm going," Katara said firmly, narrowing her eyes as she looked around as if daring the rest of them to object. Her gaze settled on Zuko. "What about you? Are you coming?"

"Uh... well..." His gaze slid sideways towards Mai, somewhat uneasily.

His fiance sighed, rolling her eyes upward. "You are so predictable," she complained. "You realize that someone's going to have to be here to respond to any messages coming from home, right?"

"Mai." Zuko took hold of her shoulders, turning her around to meet his gaze. "I can't just sit here and do nothing. Please."

"Of course you can't." Her smile was somewhat rueful; she sighed again, and there was a long-suffering tone in her voice when she went on. "Fine. I'll handle the Fire Nation. Just don't get yourself into trouble like you always do, all right?"

"I won't - I promise." He kissed her then, with such fierce enthusiasm that Katara had to turn her head away, embarrassed. "Thank you, Mai."

"Whatever." The faint blush on Mai's face took away from her cool tone. "Just remember, you owe me."

"Well, if that's settled..." Iroh's voice was faintly amused; he kept his gaze innocently averted from his nephew's. "Shall we go?"

Katara looked again at Aang's still, glowing form, and took in a breath, gathering her determination around her like a shield. "I'll grab us some food," she answered, and turned toward the kitchen.

* * *

Sokka kicked his heel against the wall behind him, his attention anywhere but on the cross-legged form of his friend. For the first while, it had been enough to wonder what the heck had happened to Aang, and why he might've gone to the Spirit World in the first place - was it some crazy Avatar reaction to sex, or what? Not that he wanted a very detailed answer to that one, seeing as how his sister was involved and everything... But, anyway.

Now that the novelty had worn off, there... really wasn't much to do.

"Would you cut that out, already?" Toph said curtly, and he stopped in mid-kick, surprised. "You're making my feet itch."

"Oh. Sorry." Sokka lowered the foot, then sighed. "This has gotta be the most boring job I've ever been given."

"Well, think about something else, then," she replied, unhelpfully. "Keep in mind that this is probably also the _easiest_ job you've ever been given, so you're going to look really stupid if you manage to screw it up."

"I know that!" He frowned at her. "But come on, don't you find this boring? It's, like, the least exciting thing I've done in a long time. Seriously. Worse than folding Suki's laundry."

Toph guffawed. "You fold Suki's laundry?"

He felt a little offended by her amusement. "We take turns, okay?"

"Yeah, washing it I can see, but _folding_?" She laughed. "What kind of warriors waste their time folding laundry?"

"Whatever." He crossed his arms, determined to rise above her taunts. "_Real_ warriors know how important it is to have their clothing tidy and wrinkle-free."

Her answering grin was wicked. "I'll bet you fold your underwear, too."

"I do not fold my underwear!"

"And what about _her_ underwear?"

He could feel his face grow hot, and deliberately turned it away from her. "That's beside the point."

"Yeah, I thought so."

"Shut up." That was the only really good thing about doing laundry, anyway. It had been three years now since the first time he had seen Suki's underwear - not to mention what lay beneath it - and the sight of it still ignited his hormonal teenaged side. "Not like I've had the chance to see it lately, anyway," he muttered, a fresh surge of resentment hitting him at the reminder.

Toph made a face. "You really need to get over that," she said, again with that rational tone he hated so much. "It's not going to kill you guys to be apart for just a few days - and hey, maybe it'll even be a good thing."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Her turning down my proposal and telling me to back off is a good thing?"

"Well, it might give you time to think." She shrugged. "Maybe you can start to see things from her perspective and figure out how to bring up the subject in a way that won't make her want to smack you silly." That brought a slight smirk. "Although that might be kind of impossible for you."

"Thanks. I love you, too." He shot her a flat stare, and then looked away. "But seriously, Suki and I... we're supposed to be a team. Just the two of us non-bending warriors against the world, you know?" He shut his eyes. "I guess it just hurts that she doesn't see it that way."

Surprisingly, Toph pushed herself away from the wall she'd been leaning on. "You know," she said, raising an eyebrow, "as much as I'd love to play therapist with you, Sokka, I really don't think I'm the best person to talk about this stuff with."

He gaped at her. "But - But we were just talking about it a second ago!"

"Look." Toph crossed her arms, a guarded sort of expression on her face as she looked at him. "I'm okay with talking about your reasons and all. But I'm not good with emotional stuff; you know how long it took to get some kind of good working relationship with my parents. It's... just not my thing." She turned to leave the room. "I'm gonna go get some food."

"Wait a second!" He grabbed her shoulder before she could get out of reach. "You're the only person I've told this too, and I - I feel like I've gotta talk to someone. I've been going nuts, keeping all this bottled up! Please, Toph, just hear me out. You don't have to say anything, just - just listen. Okay?"

She turned her face towards him, and he was surprised to see hints of that hostility she'd shown the other night. "Sokka, I'm the last person who wants to hear how madly in love you are with Suki, okay? Trust me." She shrugged out of his hold. "You're better off keeping your mouth shut. As hard as that is for you," she added, wryly.

"I don't get it!" He stared at her in exasperated confusion. "Why is me being madly in love with Suki such an issue? You have a problem with that?" His eyes narrowed. "Is that what it is? After all this time, you have a problem with me and Suki being together?"

Toph let out a short huff of air, blowing out her bangs. "I didn't say that. I _said_, I don't want to hear about it. Is that so hard for your tiny brain to process?"

"But why?" He spread his arms, thoroughly frustrated with the conversation and her less than receptive attitude towards his request for help. "Why now? Why this? We're friends, aren't we? What is it about me being in love with Suki that you just can't stand to hear about it?"

Her eyebrows came down; she turned to face him, uncrossing her arms. "You _really_ want to know?"

Sokka let his own arms fall, returning her glare despite the fact that she wouldn't see it anyway. "Yeah! I really do!"

"Well, just don't forget, you asked for it." She grabbed the collar of his shirt in a rough handful and jerked his head down to her level.

It wasn't a gesture Sokka was unfamiliar with. He'd seen countless girls do it, including his own sister, and Suki had even done it to him a couple of times - mostly for fun, but sometimes when she particularly wanted his attention. He knew - with complete and utter certainty - how it would end up, but even armed with that knowledge, he was totally unprepared for the feeling of Toph's lips on his. They were dry but warm, and she pressed into it with much more aggression than Suki ever had. Strangely, he kind of liked that.

It didn't feel _real_, though. He couldn't bring himself to believe it was really happening. Toph didn't kiss people - she definitely wouldn't kiss _him_. That was why he didn't pull away, and instead spent the entirety of the kiss staring blankly at the side of her face and wondering why he was imagining such weird and impossible things.

Then she let go of his collar and pulled back, face flushed and breathing fast, and looking so like Toph and yet so _different_ that his head reeled.

_Wait. That... really just happened, didn't it?_

"That's why," she deadpanned, and turned away from him to march purposefully out of the room.

This time, he didn't stop her.

* * *

"Good!" Katara's pleased smile was visible even through the water he was bending; Aang couldn't help but return it, even as he let the cool liquid flow back into the stream. "You're practically a master yourself now, you know; pretty soon, we won't need these sessions any more."

"Sure we will; I have to keep my skills up, right?" Aang tried to keep his grin innocent; truthfully, he didn't want to give up this time with her, when he could see so much of her bare skin and still know that all of her attention was focussed on him. "We could have waterbending duels... It would be fun!"

"Maybe." She tilted her head down and looked up at him through her lashes, smile turning coy, and he had the feeling she saw right through his excuses. "I don't think a duel between us would be much of a duel, though."

He shrugged. "Yeah, but I could go easy on you."

"You're awfully confident for someone who's still learning." She crossed her arms, almost challengingly.

How could he resist taking her up on that? "Well, my teacher taught me pretty well." Aang bent a tendril around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "And she's really pretty, so I pay close attention." He placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning down to capture her smiling mouth with his.

Katara obliged him, tilting her head into the kiss. The contact made him slightly dizzy, but not in a bad way. He could get lost in the sensation of it: her scent, her taste, the feel of her skin beneath his fingers. It made him want to sink himself into her and never come up for air.

Or maybe literally sink a certain part of himself into her; he'd been thinking about _that_ a lot lately.

Aang tightened his hold on her shoulders just a bit, trying not to let his hormones run away with him. She was just so beautiful, and felt so right in his arms, and her kisses were so hot and wanting... And as he pulled back and opened his eyes to look at her, flushed and staring at him with a glazed sort of look, he was sure she must feel the same.

_Time to go for it..._

He woke this time with his lips still pursed, expecting to lean in and kiss Katara again. Had that one been a memory, or just a fantasy? He couldn't remember; it was getting more difficult to tell. His mind felt jumbled together with the dreams that kept flooding in, one right after another, occasionally even interrupting each other.

_I have to keep it together._ Aang deliberately fought the disorientation that came with being torn out of the dream-world. He was never awake for very long, so he couldn't waste time. Somehow or another, he had to get out of this, before something bad happened.

And he had a feel something bad was _about_ to happen. He just didn't know what.

Next to him, his captor just chuckled.

_That is really creepy..._

Aang focussed his energy on his unresponsive muscles. _Come on, work..._ Last time, he'd come close; he could feel that he was right on the verge of success. If he could just get together the right amount of will power...

"You shouldn't struggle so much." Cool knuckles brushed the back of neck, making his skin want to crawl. "Just enjoy the dreams. They're what you wanted, aren't they?"

_Don't listen,_ he reminded himself, trying to draw back that sense of calm. He couldn't get angry; anger wouldn't help anything. _She's baiting you, so just... ignore it._ The trick was to pull the rational part of your mind away from the part controlled by emotions. It had always been kind of hard for him, but he could do it. Just a little more...

His fingers twitched.

_Was that me? Did I do it?_

Another dream was drifting in - he could feel it coming - but Aang felt the smallest hint of hope.

He just had to be patient, and maybe - just _maybe_ - this would all be over with soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Inertia**

**Part Five**

"This is it." Katara slid down from the back of Appa's neck, giving the bison a quick pat. "Thank you for getting us here so quickly," she said softly to him, and closed her eyes briefly as he rumbled a response. "I'll make sure to do my part and bring Aang back."

Zuko had jumped from the saddle and was looking at his surroundings dubiously. "Are you sure this is Senlin village?" he asked, after a moment. "All I see are trees."

"Well, it's not quite Senlin village, but I _am_ sure this is the right place." She stepped up beside him, and pointed ahead. "These trees weren't here last time, but that was... look."

"Ah." Iroh caught sight of the wooden statue before his nephew had a chance to do so. "So your Hei Bai is the spirit of this forest." He moved past them, studying the figure of the bear. "A magnificent-looking animal."

Katara nodded, joining him at the foot of the shrine. "I'm sure he'll help us, but..." She glanced helplessly at the older man. "I'm not really sure how to contact a spirit."

"Don't worry about it." He smiled at her, and for a brief moment she thought she could see the resemblance between him and Zuko. "That's why you have me."

"Uncle knows a lot about the Spirit World," Zuko added, smiling faintly. "He went there once - after my cousin died."

A flicker of sadness crossed Iroh's face; Katara wasn't entirely sure she hadn't imagined it. "The spirits know when we approach their domain here on earth," he told her. "They may not always be aware of our intentions, but they can feel our presence. The important thing is to be sure that you are presenting a request - not a demand. Proper respect is key."

Katara looked up at the statue of Hei Bai. She hadn't seen much of the spirit personally, and most of the time when she _had_ seen it, it had been in a terrible rage. But she remembered what it had looked like after Aang had offered the acorn, and how the bamboo shoots had sprung up in its path as it left the village.

_Its love for this forest must be overwhelming._

She remembered Aang telling her once that Hei Bai had guided him through the Spirit World without being asked, and had even been referred to as a 'friend' by Avatar Roku. The spirit must have _some_ affection for Aang - so even if it didn't know her, surely it would be willing to help him.

_Please,_ she thought, staring up at the statue's still face hopefully. _If you're a friend like Roku said you were, then please, _please_ help us find Aang._

"Over there!" Zuko said suddenly, and she jerked her head to him, startled. He was looking out into the trees, where the figure of a giant panda padded towards them with great dignity.

_Hei Bai..._

When the bear reached where they stood, he lowered his muzzle. Katara noticed Iroh placing his hands before him in a gesture of respect, and quickly did the same, feeling her heart pounding hard against her chest.

"You came for us - for Aang," she said out loud after they'd straightened, and couldn't help but smile into the black glittering eyes above her. "Thank you, Hei Bai."

There was no change in the spirit's expression, but she liked to imagine he would smile at her in return if he could.

"You won't have any use for food or weapons," Iroh was saying to his nephew. "Better that you travel light - and keep on your toes. The Spirit World is a tricky place." He looked to Hei Bai again. "And be sure to pay close attention to anything your guide may be trying to tell you."

Katara stared at him, with some surprise. "You're not coming with us?"

He regarded her with uncharacteristic gravity. "When diving into unfamiliar waters, it is better that someone should remain at the surface to pull you back out if need be." He smiled then. "Besides, I am probably getting too old and tired for such adventures."

"Don't let him fool you," Zuko told her, rolling his eyes with good-natured exasperation. "This 'old and tired' man could probably take us both with one hand tied behind his back. But aside from that whole diving business, he does have a point."

"I suppose so." Katara felt a great deal less certain about this trip now that she wouldn't have Iroh's expertise to rely on. _Just remember, this is for Aang,_ she told herself. _You can't afford to have doubts now._ She squared her shoulders and fixed Zuko with a determined stare. "Let's do this, then."

He nodded, and she saw her own resolve reflected back from his eyes. "Right." Then uncertainty wiped it away, and he turned back toward his uncle again. "So, uh, _how_ exactly do we do this?"

"Take hold of his flank," Iroh responded, and then shrugged. "Probably."

"'Probably'?" Zuko repeated flatly.

"Hey, it can't hurt."

"Ugh." The Firelord rolled his eyes upward. "Fine."

Hei Bai raised his face again as they approached, and stared up to where the sun was setting. As Katara felt her hands bury into his coarse fur, the world around her shifted and blurred.

* * *

Sokka figured it had been nearly 24 hours now. The sun was close to setting, and tonight was the solstice. It had happened at about this time yesterday - at least, he thought it had.

_We just haven't talked about it._

Toph didn't even seem embarrassed. It was so weird. He felt so awkward and strange around her, and she didn't seem different at all. He didn't know what to do or say about it. So... he pretty much avoided the subject altogether and acted like it didn't happen.

If he didn't remember that kiss in such vivid detail, he might even have been able to convince himself it really hadn't.

_How long have I been missing this, anyway?_ It was bothering him that he couldn't pinpoint a definite time. Sokka stared blankly at Aang - it was kind of freaky how quickly he'd turned into part of the decor - and wondered if he should bring the subject up when Toph got out of bed. But what was he supposed to say to her, anyway? 'So, about that kissing thing you did yesterday? I was just wondering how many of my memories I can totally warp by asking how long you've wanted to do that to me.'

That probably wouldn't go over well.

And then there was Suki... Sokka grimaced. Was he supposed to tell her about this? He'd kissed another girl. Then again, it hadn't been his idea... But it wasn't like he'd done a lot to stop it. And he'd seen it coming. He could've blocked her, or backed off, or... or something.

Maybe, secretly, he'd wanted it.

That thought was disturbing. Sokka hunched his shoulders, feeling a bit sick to his stomach. What kind of man was he? He was in love with Suki, and wanted to marry her more than anything... but he'd kissed another girl, and he'd enjoyed it. What the heck was up with that? Was it that he'd wanted Toph all along, and just not realized it? Underneath the boyish clothing and the dirt and the in-your-face attitude, she was still a girl, and he had to admit that she was kind of pretty. Nowhere near as beautiful as Suki, of course, but still... She was funny, and they got along. Maybe they were even suited for each other, more so than he and Suki had ever seemed to be. And she understood him. She didn't get offending by dumb things he said, or act all pissed off without telling him the reasons. And she was always willing to listen to him rant - usually with some unflattering commentary, but still.

She might've reacted better to a marriage proposal.

_Why am I thinking these things?_ He loved Suki. He did. He was sure of it. Wasn't he?

"Grrmmmph." Toph slouched into the room, interrupting his thoughts. Her hair was wildly untidy, her clothing was dishevelled, and she was rubbing at her sleep-filled eyes with little finesse. "Sleeping during the day stinks," she grumbled, and levelled a glare at Aang's unmoving form. "You'd better appreciate this when you get back here, baldy."

"Speaking of which, I think he's starting to grow hair again." Sokka tried not to let his eyes settle on the way Toph's shirt hung around her breasts and hips. Who knew Toph had breasts and hips, anyway? You'd think she was a real girl or something. He pushed that thought aside. "This is kind of neat, in a way - it's like having a potted plant that you don't have to water."

"I'll make sure to tell Katara you said that," Toph quipped, without losing a beat.

"Yeah, and I'll - I'll - " He struggled for a good return threat, and finally settled on, "I'll do something _you_ won't like."

She grinned. "Lame."

"You caught me off guard!"

"Says the self-proclaimed king of snappy comebacks."

"I never said that! And besides" - he crossed his arms huffily - "I was distracted. So _there_."

"Yeah, whatever." Her tone was good-natured; she leaned against the wall next to him and let herself slide down to sit with an unceremonious 'thud'. "Your attention span is so short, I'm surprised there are times when you're _not_ distracted."

Sokka stared down at her for a moment. Toph was kind of like a guy friend - actually, more so than Aang sometimes. He could talk to her about random things without thinking about impressing her or any of that. And, well... he didn't have any secrets from Suki, and they talked a lot - about everything and anything - but it was different. There was just all of this awkwardness tied up with Suki. He didn't want to think about her and the mess he'd made of things; it made his insides curl and his chest ache. But then there was Toph...

She was a friend; a buddy even, like Zuko or Aang. A comrade. They were a team. But she was a girl, and she'd kissed him. And... And she had breasts and hips, and the other things that girls had. Sokka swallowed, darting his eyes away from her - and then back again, quickly. She wasn't mad at him, and he didn't have a complicated emotional tangle to unravel with her.

So. Yeah. Nothing. "Hey, Toph?"

She was busily digging a finger into her ear, and didn't bother turning towards him. "Yeah?" The finger came out, and she flicked off whatever was on it casually, wiping her hands together.

_Good and gross._ Sokka couldn't help but grin somehow, feeling more at ease. _Now that's the Toph I know and love._ He cleared his throat. "Do you think maybe it's time we talked about yester - "

"Oh _hey_, I totally forgot about breakfast!" Toph pushed herself up abruptly, and rolled her shoulders. "Guess I'll just wander on over to the kitchen, and - "

"Oh, come _on_!" There was a plaintive note in his voice, but Sokka decided he didn't care. "We can't just not talk about this forever!"

"We _could_, if you'd just stop trying to bring it up." She turned and gave him a pointed look.

"Hey, you started it!" He pointed an accusing finger. "You - You kissed me! On the _mouth_." He sharply brought his hands to his hips, trying to assume some kind of authoritative stance. "Explain yourself!"

Toph raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was pretty obvious."

Why wasn't she more embarrassed? Sokka could already feel the heat building on his face. "So - So that means you - ?"

"Uh. Yeah." The look on her face was condescending, but two spots of color had bloomed on her cheeks. Finally. "That was kind of the point of me kissing you." She shrugged. "You did ask for it."

"Yeah, but - but - " What could he say to that? Sokka stared at her again, doubt gnawing away at his insides. Had he somehow known, deep down, what she was going to do? Maybe he really _had_ asked for it, because - well - because maybe he wanted it. Maybe he was just fooling himself with Suki, and that was why things were so unbearable between them lately.

And that was why she'd yelled at him, with her brown eyes flashing, and he couldn't help thinking she was beautiful even as she told him to get lost. _I'm an idiot. I'm just... yeah._

But things weren't unbearable with Toph. And, well, maybe that was the way it was supposed to be. Maybe this was meant to be, and the idea that he could be in love with Suki had just been him riding out his own denial.

_And maybe I need to stop pissing Suki off and making Toph wait around over an obvious mistake on _my_ part._

"Y'know what? Whatever." With those reckless words, he took a quick step forward and leaned down to kiss her again.

* * *

It was the awareness that was different this time; Aang was certain - absolutely _certain_ - that he was dreaming. And what's more, he knew without a doubt that this dream wasn't a memory.

"Aang?" Katara glanced up at him, almost shyly. There was a slight smile on her face, but her eyes were uncertain and her cheeks flushed. "You haven't said anything. Are you okay with this?"

He took in a breath, trying to calm himself. _It's a dream,_ he told himself wildly. He'd been so sure that telling himself that would help him, after he'd gradually worked out the trick to separating the rational portion of his mind from the sleeping portion. But now, he knew that he'd underestimated the dreams. Nothing could help him.

And with Katara standing in front of him bare inches away and without a shred of clothing on, his half-flustered mind couldn't decide if it really wanted to be saved.

"I'm okay," he managed, voice shaking. His hands were trembling, too - _But those aren't my hands! This is a dream!_ - and he couldn't manage to keep his eyes on her face. These were parts of her body he'd never seen - never been _allowed_ to see - but everything looked so real, and so, so detailed... He would never have been able to dream this on his own.

Katara seemed to relax then, a little of the tension leaving her body. "Oh... good. I'm glad." She reached up to touch his cheek, tilting his face so that his wide-eyed gaze met hers, and he noticed that her smile was a relieved one. "I'm okay too," she said, and leaned toward him, shutting her eyes before her lips brushed his. "I'm okay with this, Aang," she murmured, and slid her hand around to the back of his neck, drawing him deeper into the kiss.

It felt so real... Aang experienced a moment of dizzying confusion, caught up in the warmth of her lips and tongue and the undeniable presence of smooth skin against his chest. _I'm dreaming - I know I'm dreaming - but Katara... Katara..._

She captured one of his hands with hers, and pressed his trembling fingers to the curve of her breast, and all of his thoughts of dreaming and waking up and not going along with this ceased.

He had never touched her there deliberately, not even through her clothing. He could only imagine what it might feel like - _had_ imagined it, in fact, so many times... When she brushed against him accidentally, or he pulled her close and felt them press against him... The reality - if this could be called reality - was nothing close. He felt the moan rising at the back of his throat and surged forward against her, returning the kiss with everything he had.

_This is really happening... She's really going to let me..._

Katara broke away from him, pulling back with a coy smile, and took both of his hands in hers, her gaze never leaving his as she guided him back towards the bed. His breath caught; he was sure she could see his reaction, but didn't care enough to be embarrassed. There were lit candles around the room - had he noticed the candles before? - and the mood was right. It was just the way he'd planned it. With her sliding onto the bed, the shadows playing over her naked skin in exciting ways, her eyes inviting him to climb over her... They were going to _do_ it, his adolescent self exalted. _Yes! Yes yes _yes_, this is perfect!_

"Aang..." she breathed, settling back as he crawled up onto the bed and reached out with hesitant fingers to touch her body again. She was still blushing, and he knew he was too, but her eyes were clear and certain. It reminded him of that day, over three years ago, when she'd kissed him for the first time on Iroh's balcony in Ba Sing Se. "I love you." She brought her arms around his neck, tugging him down into an embrace.

"I love you too, Katara." His voice was still shaking; he buried his face in her shoulder, breathing in her scent and feeling overwhelmed by how huge the moment really was. "So much... you have no idea..."

Her fingers slid over his scalp, soothingly. "I want you to do this, Aang," she murmured directly into his air, causing him to shiver. "Only you... I trust you."

_I trust you._

Trust you.

Trust...

It felt like the breath was knocked out of him with just that statement. Gasping sharply, Aang pulled himself back and out of her arms. "No... no, no, _no_..." He groaned and stood abruptly, backing hastily away from her reaching fingers, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to block out the sound of her hesitant inquiries. "This is all wrong!"

_I'm dreaming! This is a dream!_ And not just a dream, but a trick. He'd just about had his first intimate moment with Katara in someone's stupid illusion! _It's not the real Katara! She's not _real_!_

And the real Katara was probably waiting for him - _trusted_ him - to get back to her.

_Stop messing with my head!_

The feel of soft ground beneath his sleeping form was a sudden and very welcome change. Aang felt his heart hammering against his chest, and wished he could deepen his breathing, fighting against the somehow violent disorientation that came with finding himself lying down when his mind had been convincing he was standing.

_That was too close..._ He felt his skin prickle, and fought back a jumbled mess of thoughts and emotions, trying to draw himself back into that state of separation. _I'm so sorry, Katara._

"Ah." The voice from behind him seemed to have changed; Aang made note of this, even as he drew a sense of calm around him. "Finally, the barrier is weakened," it hissed, and there was a sense of smug satisfaction in its tone. "Finally, I'll have a vessel with power... a worthy path into the mortal world."

_What does _that_ mean?_ Despite everything, a prickle of alarm had formed at the back of his mind.

"Stay here with your empty dreams, Avatar." He felt the spirit shift behind him. "I'll be claiming what you left behind."

And then the presence was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Inertia**

**Part Six**

It seemed like they'd been riding around the Spirit World forever.

The whole setting had taken some getting used to; even now, Katara found herself struck by the strangeness of it. From what she had seen so far, it seemed to be an endless bog, shrouded in fog and full of creatures with startling appearances or odd behaviours. The bear they rode on didn't bother to slow so that she could get a good look at any of them, and she was both grateful and disappointed for that. The other spirits, for the most part, barely even seemed to register that they were passing through.

_I guess you get used to unexpected things happening around this place..._

Katara shifted on Hei Bai's back, glancing over her shoulder at Zuko. The silence between them was oppressive; it reminded her a little too much of their journey to the Fire Nation back before the fight with Azula. That same tension was present - that sense of not knowing what to expect.

She cleared her throat, hoping to dispel some of it. "I wonder where we're going."

"Does it matter?" He met her gaze, a bit of a wry glint in his eyes. "I somehow don't think this place has landmarks."

"I guess you're right." She managed a rueful smile. "But Hei Bai obviously knows where to find Aang, since he's been running this whole time... It must be something to do with him being the Avatar."

"Guess so." Zuko shrugged.

Katara turned her face forward again, curling her fingers in the panda's coarse fur. "I wish I hadn't been so hard on him the last time we talked," she mumbled. This might not have even happened if she hadn't... and even if it had, at least if she'd been more considerate, that horrible fight wouldn't be her last moment with him.

Zuko seemed to hesitate. "It's... probably not your fault," he said after a moment, a little awkwardly. "Not that I want to pry into your personal business, but I don't think anyone's ever come up with a foolproof way to turn someone down without hurting their feelings at least a little."

"I wasn't _trying_ to turn him down; I just wanted him to wait!" Katara slumped, staring despondently out at the scenery. "It just... came out wrong, somehow. If I'd been more patient with him, I'm sure we could have avoided all this."

He was quiet again for a moment. Then, "Oh."

_Yeah. Oh._

"Well... we'll find him," Zuko reminded her. When she turned to look back at him, he offered a rare grin. "Someone once told me I'm an expert at finding the Avatar."

"That's true, isn't it?" She couldn't help but smile back, despite everything. "Although it looks to me like Hei Bai is doing all the work..."

"Well, that's just - huh?"

Hei Bai had abruptly stopped; when Katara looked up, she found a thicket of bamboo trees in front of her, blocking their path. The break from the rest of the bog seemed strangely smooth, and it arched; as if the forest were forming a protective circle around something.

"Why did we stop?" Zuko was frowning at the line of trees, looking around to the side where it curved. "I'm pretty sure we can go around this place."

Hei Bai lowered himself down, and Katara slid from his back, feeling an odd sense of anticipation as she regarded the bamboo. "I think this is it," she said, turning back to her friend. "Aang must be inside this forest somewhere."

"Oh." Zuko followed her lead, landing on the grassy floor near one of the many patches of water around them. "If that's the case, then what are we waiting for?" He took a step toward the forest.

The panda bounded swiftly in front of them, blocking the entrance. Turning just slightly, he lowered his muzzle and touched his nose delicately to the water.

Zuko frowned. "What's he doing?"

"I think he's trying to tell us something." Katara knelt by the water, reaching out with one hand to touch it. "Maybe if I just - "

As her fingers brushed the surface, an image rose into her mind. She could see the trees in front of her, as if she were looking through the eyes of a person who was moving towards them. Hands brushed out in front of her, pushing the shoots aside as she wandered inside. There was a path; she moved towards it automatically. The inside of the forest was shaded but not dark - there was a gentle sort of light around her: a soothing light. Katara felt a peculiar kind of lassitude slip over her mind as she walked along the path.

It was so relaxing... She couldn't remember why she'd come in. But it didn't matter; the forest was just so beautiful. It wasn't even alarming that she couldn't recall the way back out, either - or where she'd come from to begin with...

The vision ended; Katara withdrew her hand from the water, feeling shaken.

Zuko had crouched beside her, watching intently. "What? What was it?"

"It was..." Katara paused to collect her thoughts, looking up at the trees again. Suddenly, they seemed quite ominous. "I saw myself going into the forest - but once I was in there, I forgot what I'd gone in for. And then... I started to forget more things." She met his gaze again. "I think this forest steals your memories."

"That's a problem." Zuko frowned thoughtfully, crossing his arms. "How are we going to save Aang if we forget we're supposed to be saving him?"

"I don't know." She shook her head, then took in a long breath and squared her shoulders. "But I'm going to do it anyway. I'm going in." She watched his face for a reaction. "Are you with me?"

He met her gaze. "Actually... no. Just hear me out!" he added quickly, as she started to protest. "You remember what Uncle said, when he sent us in here without him? He said that you should always leave someone out to go diving with you."

Katara raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh... I'm pretty sure that's not what he said..."

"Well, maybe not exactly, but you know what I mean!" Zuko pushed himself to his feet, looking over to one of the larger trees that had been more prominently placed around the swamp. "If we both go in there, who's going to be around to pull us back out if something happens?"

She frowned. "That's true... but how are we going to fix it?"

"See those vines?" He waved a hand at the tree he'd been eyeing up. "What if we make a rope by tying them together? Then I could stand out here and keep giving you slack, while you go in there and try to find Aang." He looked back to her with a bit of a smile. "If I run out of rope or it's been too long, I'll pull you back out and we can start over."

"Zuko, you're a genius!" Katara pushed herself up, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder in appreciation. "How long do you think it'll take to gather up enough vines?"

"Not too long." He grinned then. "If we start now."

"Right." She nodded. "Let's do this."

* * *

Kissing Toph was kind of new ground for Sokka - she wasn't exactly like most girls - so he wasn't really sure what to expect when he did it. But he was pretty sure that it wasn't for her to grab his chin in her hand and press her fingers into his cheeks, immobilizing him before he could even make it to her lips.

"Hah?" He blinked at her.

Toph was fixing him with a flat stare. "Sorry," she said, not sounding sorry at all, and abruptly shoved him back, releasing his jaw as she did.

"Ow! Hey, that really hurt, you know!" He rubbed his jaw, shooting her an injured look. "What gives? I thought this was what you wanted! You were the one kissing _me_ yesterday..."

"Yeah, to prove a point." She jabbed a finger into his chest, sharply. "I didn't do it so you'd go and talk yourself into thinking you were in love with me or something. But I guess maybe this was too much information for your tired little brain to handle."

Sokka bristled at that. "Hey!"

"Hey _what_? It's true." She crossed her arms. "Admit it, Sokka - you weren't kissing me because you have feelings for me. You just figured it'd make everyone feel better somehow if you were with me instead of Suki."

That struck a pretty uncomfortable chord. Sokka winced. "I - well..."

"It amazes me how you can be such a nice guy and still be so incredibly lame at the same time." She made a face. "Makes me wonder what the heck Suki sees in you."

"You know, for someone who claims to have feelings for me, you have a pretty funny way of showing it." He frowned down at her, trying to talk the subject away from her all-too-accurate observation. "Between the insults and the physical abuse, I'm really not feeling the love here."

"Oh, boo hoo." Toph rolled her eyes upward. "You really think anything's changed, just because you know I wanted to mash lips with you now? Think again."

"Well, of course _something's_ changed!" He spread his arms, wishing it wasn't so obvious that he was uncertain. It felt like he was back to being 15 again. "I mean, you kissed me! That changes a lot of things!"

"Like what?" She raised a challenging eyebrow at him; when he didn't respond, she sighed. "You see? This is why I didn't tell you before. You have this crazy idea that things have to be all weird between us or something."

He frowned. "Don't they?"

"I don't know." She gave him a pointed look. "Do you _want_ things to be weird?"

"Uh..." Sokka stared at her. Did he want things to change? Even with all the thoughts about kissing and breast and hips and all that... He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm... gonna guess that I don't."

"So stop acting like it." Toph snorted, then grinned. "And seriously? I think you'll find that if you stop whining so much, Suki will listen to you a lot more."

"Yeah... maybe." Now that all the excitement was settling down, it was starting to sink in just how stupid he had been. What was he thinking? He'd just tried to kiss another girl! And one of his best friends, no less! No wonder Suki wasn't too thrilled with him. What kind of low-life was he, anyway? "I dunno."

Toph blew out her bangs, clearly growing frustrated with him. "Look," she said after a minute, in that reasonable tone of voice that he had such a love/hate relationship with. "It's true, you just tried to do something incredibly stupid, and yeah, I think you're pretty much an idiot."

His shoulders slumped. "Thanks for that..."

"But," she added, raising an eyebrow at him, "I know you're really confused right now." She shifted uncomfortably. "And... maybe me kissing you was a bad idea considering the situation." A bit of a one-sided smile came with that. "Think about it: if things were normal between you and Suki, you'd have reacted totally differently."

"Well - " He stopped. _If things were normal..._ Then being separated from Suki wouldn't be a big deal. Sure, she'd be on his mind all the time, but not in a bad way. He thought back to their sparring matches, when they collapsed on the training room floor laughing together afterwards... or those moments on lazy summer afternoons, when they lounged around outside talking about everything and nothing... staring into Suki's eyes, watching her smile, seeing how dedicated she was to her team... "Yeah..." he admitted finally, and lowered his eyes. "You're right."

He loved Suki. She was... she was everything. And he knew it now; he couldn't give her up. Not for anyone's sake. And if he was making a mistake or that made him too selfish... well, then he'd make a mistake and be selfish. He couldn't help it.

"Duh, I'm always right." Toph slugged him in the arm, still with that careless grin, and then crossed back to the door. "Are you done being all drama queen now? I wasn't lying when I said I wanted some breakfast."

"Yeah... I think I'm good." He offered her a genuine smile in return. "Oh, and Toph? Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

* * *

_"I always liked you with hair," Katara admitted, reaching up to gently brush the fringe that had grown on his scalp. Her smile turned bashful. "I used to imagine what it would be like to run my hands through it while we kissed."_

He was sitting beside her, on a rock around a campfire - but he wasn't. He was lying down. Aang concentrated on his sleeping self, determined to get some motion happening. His hand shifted, and the dream changed.

_A small wave hit him directly in the face; Katara laughed as he sputtered, and grinned challengingly. "Not afraid of getting wet, are you?" she teased, standing knee-deep in the creak with her hands braced on her hips._

His left hand was moving; sliding over the soft ground beneath it. The motion was jerky and slow, but he managed to keep it going. Aang did his best to keep his focus where it belonged, barely aware that the scenery in his mind had shifted yet again.

_She was kissing him, slowly and passionately, her body curled against his side on the grass. "Aang," she breathed as they broke apart, staring at him with soft, luminous eyes. "I love you - you know that, right?"_

_I love you too, Katara._ The palm of his hand braced against the ground by his chest; he focussed on the elbow next, bringing it up. _That's why... I have to win this time._

_I have to wake up!_

The dream changed again.

_She was on her father's arm, and she'd never looked so beautiful; her hair, her dress - everything. But mostly the look on her face - that smile she wore, and the way her eyes shone as she stared down the aisle at him. He'd never seen her so happy before._

Aang's elbow was angled correctly now; he focussed on setting his shoulders, and willed his muscles to push.

The image of Katara in a wedding gown vanished immediately, and he couldn't help but gasp, jolted into a rude, painful awakening and pushed halfway up toward a sitting position. His shoulder muscles were protesting vigorously, and the rest of his body felt horribly stiff. When he opened his eyes, he instantly regretted it as the light seemed to stab into them, and squeezed them shut again, groaning as he hauled himself painfully up.

_I'm awake!_ The discomfort was worth it. Aang sat there for a moment and just breathed, so relieved that it felt like he could've just melted back onto the ground. He rolled his shoulders and wrung out his hands, wondering at how good it felt to finally be able to do such simple things again. _I never thought just stretching could feel so great..._

It took even longer to get a look at his surroundings than it did to stretch out his sore muscles - should he really feel it so much, considering this wasn't actually his physical body? It was so weird how the Spirit World worked sometimes - but once he'd gotten to the point where he could keep his eyes open and cleaned out the sleep from the corners, he was a little surprised by what he saw.

_Bamboo?_

Somehow, it didn't fit his image of the Spirit World. Aang blinked owlishly at the forest surrounding him. He'd expected something more... well... bog-like. Maybe.

"I guess this place is full of surprises." His voice croaked. Aang coughed, then took a better look at where he was sitting. It was something like a nest, soft brown downy material in the center and brambles surrounding it. The ground it was resting on was like a mound, separating it from the trees that circled it. He still couldn't see over the tops of them to get an idea of how far he'd have to go to get out of the area, though.

"Roku?" He didn't really expect an answer, so it wasn't a surprise when nothing happened. Aang pushed himself to his feet, trying to ignore the way his legs shook, and stepped over the edge of the 'nest'. "Huh. Guess I'll have to get out of this forest first."

Moving around sounded like a great idea. Once he got used to the soreness, it actually felt really good to be using his muscles again. _I'll probably get to go through this again once I'm back in my real body, too._ But at least then he'd probably have Katara around with her healing hands.

_Katara..._ Aang slid down the side of the mound and stopped for a moment, lost in thought. "I should apologize to her," he decided out loud. After all, she'd only wanted him to wait, and how was that unreasonable? She was just looking out for him - for both of them, even. Obviously, she wanted their first time to be special. And then he'd had to go and throw a fit, without even listening to her concerns; no wonder she thought he was too childish. "This whole mess is my fault."

He'd just have to make it up to her somehow.

_I wonder why I'm totally unguarded here._ Aang carefully pushed aside some of the shoots and stepped into the dim sanctuary of the forest. _Didn't that spirit ever wonder if I might wake myself up somehow?_ It was strangely peaceful, and he found himself relaxing almost without even thinking about it.

_Guess she just wasn't thinking far enough ahead._


	7. Chapter 7

**Inertia**

**Part Seven**

She wandered along the path in the forest, a little bemused by how pretty and calm it was. Somehow, it seemed like it should have been more ominous. Because - because... well, she had known a moment ago. But if she'd forgotten, then it couldn't have mattered much.

There was a hint of sunlight breaking through the gentle shading of the bamboo shoots; she couldn't help but smile and shut her eyes every so often, enjoying the warmth and the light. It would be so nice to just lie down and enjoy the moment...

Actually, she'd seen a few people - and animals - napping at the side of the path. Maybe it _was_ a good idea.

_Not yet,_ a voice in the back of her head nudged at her, when she started to seriously consider it. _You haven't found what you're looking for._

That was the one sticking point. She looked around corners, straining her eyes to peer through the trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of the object of her search. Even though it seemed quite pointless at that point: she couldn't even remember why she was searching.

Or, for that matter, what she was searching for.

_Who,_ the voice corrected. _You're looking for some_one_ - not something._

It started to matter a lot less as the minutes dragged by. The voice continued to prompt her, but she was having a hard time figuring out why she needed to care. If she couldn't remember, then why bother? Would she even know the person when she found them? She couldn't even bring a face to mind, no matter how hard she thought about it. And what was the big deal about finding this person? If they were so forgettable that she couldn't even remember them, how could it possibly be important to find them?

But she continued to search - even if it was mainly to keep that voice from nagging at her.

She was in the middle of some serious pondering regarding the subject - could she have maybe passed the person napping on the ground without even knowing it? - when she wandered onto a spot where the path branched into two and the trees seemed to lean back. A halo of golden sunshine bathed the ground, and she had to blink, unused to the brightness.

It made her smile, though; she couldn't help it. This place was just so _beautiful_. It distracted her so much that she almost didn't notice as she stepped out into the open space that someone else had just stepped off of a separate branch almost at exactly the same moment.

"Huh? Oh." His voice was what drew her attention, and she couldn't help but stare once it had.

He was taller than her - although he might've been a year or so younger - and bare-chested. He didn't have any hair, on his face or head, but his features were even and attractive. There was some sort of strange blue tattoo on his shaved scalp that ended with an arrow shape directly on his forehead - the effect wasn't an unpleasant one. And he had muscle - she could see it even from that distance; his build was slight, but he was tightly put together, like an acrobat or a gymnast. He stepped toward her with a smile, and she noticed how every motion he made was unconsciously light and fluid. The tattoos on his arms and feet stretched and bent with the movement. It was almost hypnotic.

And when he smiled like that, his face so friendly and open, she couldn't help but swallow hard, a somehow familiar fluttering building at the pit of her stomach.

_He's so handsome..._

"Hi there," he greeted, studying her with a certain curiosity - and interest, she noticed, which made her feel like blushing. His eyes were light grey; a nice sort of shade.

"Hi." She managed a smile, mentally chiding herself for becoming so flustered over a boy - no matter how good-looking. "I'm - " she started to introduce herself, and then blinked. "Oh. I don't remember." She felt her cheeks burn; he must think she was so stupid. "I'm sorry."

"That's okay. I don't remember my name either." He said it so easily, and without any trace of judgement or embarrassment; she couldn't help but feel better. And he was staring at her, his smile just a bit on the funny side. "Maybe we don't need to."

The fluttering in her stomach intensified. "Maybe we don't."

"I was thinking about going this way." He pointed down the one fork neither of them had come from, and tilted his head hopefully at her. "What about you?"

She shrugged. Was he inviting her? Part of her hoped so. "I don't know yet."

"Well, if you're not sure... How about we go together?" He held out a hand to her, eyes bright and smile wide. "What do you say?"

There it was. Walking along in a beautiful forest with a handsome stranger... The idea was almost too good to be true. Her smile grew, and she reached out with only a slight nervous thrill to take the offered hand. "Okay."

* * *

"Y'know, this is probably all your fault." Sokka crossed his arms, giving the cross-legged form in front of him a wry look. "I don't know what the heck you two were doing, but pulling the whole glowy bit and heading off to the Spirit World in the middle? Pretty tacky."

Aang's body didn't even so much as flinch.

"Yeah, I know... and hey, I sympathize." Sokka spread his hands. "It's rough being the guy sometimes. Your girlfriend always expects you to initiate stuff, and then half the time when you _do_, she gets mad... It really isn't fair, is it?" He raised an eyebrow at his friend's unresponsive face. "But this time I think you were asking for it. I mean, come on, you know Katara - she gets mad if you even _look_ at her funny. What did you expect?"

An unmoving silence answered him.

Sokka coughed, and then paced slowly to the side, still eyeing the glowing Avatar. "And, you know, running off to the Spirit World isn't - " He stopped abruptly, blinking at the sight of Toph leaning against the doorframe, her arms folded over her chest.

"Hey, don't mind me," she told him, without even a hint of a smile. "You keep on talking to the spirit-less body. I'll just be over here acting sane."

"I'm sane!" Sokka protested, stepping around Aang and towards the door. "I was just... talking to myself. You know. Like any sane person would do."

"Right. Because talking to yourself totally qualifies as 'sane'." She made exaggerated quoting motions, and topped it off with a smirk. "It's okay, Sokka - you can stop trying to hide it. We all knew it was bound to happen eventually."

"Okay, that is just totally - " He broke off again at the unmistakeable sound of shuffling from behind him.

_Shuffling - that means he's moving. That means..._

Turning sharply around provided him with confirmation: the figure on the floor was shifting, stretching out its arms; beginning the motions of lifting itself up from that sitting position... "Aang! You're awake!"

Before he could even so much as twitch a finger, the ground under him buckled and he was tossed back towards the door, slamming into the wall unceremoniously.

"Hey! What gives?"

Toph was already in a defensive position, her eyes fixed narrowly on the familiar form in front of her. "That's not Aang."

"Huh?" Sokka slid his eyes toward the younger boy, and for the first time noticed that Aang's tattoos and eyes were still glowing. His gaze fixed on them then, and a very un-Aang-like smile spread on his face. _Oh, crap..._

"This is bad, isn't it?"

"Gee, what gave you that idea?" Toph answered, through clenched teeth, and smoothly bent the stone floor into a shield as a sudden rush of fire blasted towards them.

Sokka pushed himself up, pulling his sword from his sheath and stepping up beside his younger friend. "All right," he said, taking his stance and facing the newly created wall. "Let's boot this thing back to the Spirit World."

She shot him a quick grin, and brought her foot down heavily on the ground, bringing up a large chunk of rock. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

They were still holding hands.

She couldn't help but take note of it, even though neither of them had made a move to pull back. She didn't want to bring it up or draw his attention to it in case he pulled away, but she couldn't help stealing glances down at their entwined fingers every so often. It made her feel warm and happy. And somehow, she got the feeling that it wasn't just because he was really good-looking. Something about this guy gave her the feeling they'd known each other a lot longer than they actually had.

It was comforting, in a way.

"So..." She glanced sideways at him. "Are you looking for someone, too?"

He shook his head, but smiled at her again, and she felt her insides melt a little. "Not someone - I'm looking for the way out." He paused, then blinked. "You wouldn't happen to have seen it, would you?"

"I don't remember," she answered honestly, and shrugged. "All I know is that I'm looking for someone." And then, because she really wanted to confide further in him, she went on. "I don't remember who they are or why I'm looking. I just know that it's important that I find them."

"Well... I'm someone." His smile was so bright, she noticed - so carefree. Looking into his eyes, she suddenly wished that he would sweep her into his arms and fly her away. "And it looks like you found me."

It felt like that statement was important, somehow. She stopped, tugging on his hand to halt him as well. "I did, didn't I?"

He turned to face her, tilting his head a little. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just... I wanted to stop." He was so close now; she could take in every detail. It made her feel shivery with anticipation - but for what, she wasn't sure. Her eyes caught on the blue line of his tattoos, curving around his slim arms and culminating in the arrow that pointed directly to where their hands joined. "That tattoo must've hurt," she murmured.

He blinked again - "Huh?" - and then brought up his free arm, staring at the arrow with mild surprise. "Oh. I don't know." He turned his hand over, and then back again, looking somewhat bemused. "This is going to sound weird, but I didn't even know these were there."

"Weirder than us not knowing our own names?" She smiled, and felt the butterflies return to her stomach in full fluttering mode as he met her eyes again. "You've got one on your back, too."

"I do?" He twisted, trying to look over his shoulder. It struck her as something so typical for him, somehow, and she couldn't help but laugh. He turned back to her, a bit of a sheepish smile on his face. "I guess I'll take your word for it."

"It goes all the way over your head." She reached up impulsively, and ran a finger from the top of his head down the line of the arrow, ending at his forehead. "Like... this..." His eyes met hers the finger came to a halt at the point, and she felt inexplicably nervous.

"Really?" he asked, but somehow he didn't sound interested in tattoos any more.

"Well... yes." Without knowing why, she let the finger drag down further, running lightly between his eyebrows and down over the slope of his nose. When it brushed over his lips, she felt it begin to tremble.

They were so soft...

Without breaking their gaze, he reached up with his free hand and carefully wrapped it around hers - not squeezing, just holding. She noticed his fingers were shaking, too. And then his lips pursed against the digit; he was kissing it.

It felt like that was enough to release her inhibitions. Pulling their hands down, she leaned up and replaced them with her lips, pressing gently up against him in a chaste kiss.

The contact sent a thrill all the way through her - a shivery, aching sort of thrill - but it wasn't enough. They stared at each other as she pulled back, heavy lidded, and then he leaned in and kissed her again. And when he pulled back, she followed, sliding one hand free to brace at the back of his neck and hold him still against her mouth.

Well. Not completely still.

He let go of her other hand and wrapped both arms around her waist, returning her kiss with enthusiasm. It was new and exciting, but somehow still familiar and comfortable. Either way, she felt like her reservations had deserted her; with all of the delicious heat between them and his bare skin beneath the hands she'd splayed out on his back, her head was spinning and she could feel her breath coming short. Nothing sounded like a better idea than pulling him closer, parting her lips to kiss him open-mouthed, shuffling her feet in an attempt to find a way to press more firmly against him.

The fact that he was still a complete stranger barely even registered in her brain at that point.

She may have been tugging him against her a little too hard, or lacking too much care with her footing, because somewhere in the middle of the increasingly heated kisses, they both lost their balance and toppled ungracefully onto the soft dirt of the path.

The breath went out of her lungs almost at the exact moment that they were wrenched apart. His reflexes allowed him to catch himself on his hands and saved her from being crushed, but the landing had still taken her by surprise, and she had to pause for a moment to gulp in more air while he braced himself above her, face flushed and eyes a bit wild, watching her face anxiously.

"I'm sorry - I didn't hurt you, di - ?"

She cut him by propping herself up on her elbows and kissing him, open-mouthed and maybe a little clumsy but with enough heat to leave them both flushed and breathing heavy. "Shush," she scolded him as she pulled back, and managed a small, awkward smile. "We can talk later, all right?"

He swallowed, the tips of his ears going red, and she was grateful that he hadn't missed her meaning. "Are - Are you sure?"

"Not exactly, but..." She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck - and then, because it seemed like a great way to drive the point home, wrapped her legs around his waist as well - pulling him down against her. If she'd thought that having his weight over the hot spots on her body would quell the aches, she had been mistaken. It only intensified them. "I... um... think I need this," she stammered, feeling her cheeks grow even hotter. She slid her hands around to bracket his face between them, watching the storm of emotions playing in his eyes. "I mean, I want it. Don't you?"

It was a pretty inane question; she had ample evidence of just how much he did want it pressed up against her, but he still whispered, "Yes," and leaned down to capture her lips again, hungrily.

That pretty much ended the talking.

There was some awkward shuffling with their clothing; she tried to pull her pants down without breaking their kiss or shifting out from under him, but failed, and he ended up having to back away and let her work, both of them blushing furiously, breathing quick and uneven, eyes darting to each other's faces almost guiltily. He watched her with wide eyes as she unravelled her belly wrap, until she hastily pulled him back over her, too embarrassed to deal with his stares. He fumbled with the tie on his pants a moment later, one-handed, resting on his other elbow with his torso still close to hers, and didn't pull back far enough for her curious eyes to catch more than a shadowy glimpse.

_We're going to do this, but... we aren't going to see each other first?_ It struck her as kind of backwards. But she just couldn't bring herself to be the first one exposed; she was as embarrassed as she was eager. The heat between them was almost unbearable, and they could sort that out later. Right now, she just wanted this to happen, and quickly.

He pressed a clumsy kiss to her lips, kneeling again between her legs. "Sure?" he breathed again, staring at her with uncertainty from just inches away.

"Yes. Sure," she agreed. Her stomach was tense with anticipation.

There was a certain amount of fumbling before he got it right - and the initial moment of impact was painful, but not horribly so. He was tense, and stared at her face as she held him still, eyes clouded over and mouth opened just slightly. It was a look she thought she could get used to - and when the moment passed and she loosened her hold and began to move back against him, she decided with a startled gasp that she could get used to _this_, too.

It was over quickly; he didn't know better than to thrust into her with reckless enthusiasm, and she didn't know well enough to slow him down. They were both too excited and caught up in the sensations of each other to care, even when he stiffened with a sudden gasp after only a few minutes, and buried his face in her neck, shuddering all over.

_Oh... oh..._ She lay back against the ground and breathed slowly, still feeling her heart race and wondering at the feel of the almost-stranger in such an intimate position with her. His breath was hot and uneven against her neck.

Was this okay, for her all-important first time? It felt like she shouldn't have been so content with it. This was her virginity, gone, and somehow it didn't seem like she'd ever imagined it would go like this. Not in such an impulsive, rushed manner, in the middle of a strange forest, without even fully undressing, with a boy whose name she didn't even know.

He raised himself up on his elbows then, and as their eyes met and they smiled shyly at each other, she decided that it had been perfect.

"That was... _wow_." His gaze was thoroughly infatuated, eyes shining as he stared down at her, and she couldn't help but feel gratified by it. "I wish I knew your name," he said, brushing one unsteady hand over her cheek. "You're so pretty... I can't believe you really wanted to do that with me."

"Um. Thanks." What could she say to that? "You're - You're really handsome, too," she admitted, hesitantly.

"Really?" He pulled back, hastily straightening his pants and redoing the tie, and was polite enough to avert his eyes as she fixed her belly wrap again. She wished she could've cleaned between her legs; it felt strange and slippery and a little sore. "I - uh - well. Thanks."

They weren't quite there yet, she decided, feeling her cheeks burn yet again as she sat up and pulled her pants back on. But - she took in his clear, honest gaze and ready smile - they could work on this strange new thing between them together.

"Hey... what's this?" He was looking at her waist; before she could ask, he lifted a loose vine and held it up so that she could see. "It's tied around you - see?"

"Oh." She looked down with some surprise, and noticed the coil that had been looped around her waist. "I guess it is." How had she not spotted it before? "I wonder why."

"Maybe it's supposed to lead somewhere?" He pointed at the line of makeshift rope that stretched back the way they'd come, curling loosely around trees where they'd made turns and eventually disappearing into the depths of the forest.

She frowned, and pushed herself to her feet, staggering only a little before managing to steady herself. "I think it does," she said slowly, and turned back to look at him, smiling suddenly. "Maybe if we follow this vine, it will lead us out."

He blinked up at her. "You really think so?"

"I don't know, but I have a good feeling. Come on." She extended a hand down to him. "I'll lead you."

His answering smile was bright; when he took the offered hand, she felt like everything had somehow turned out right. "Okay!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Inertia**

**Part Eight**

Waiting around wasn't exactly Zuko's favourite thing to do. Actually, it was probably closer to the bottom of the list. He was already starting to think twice about the whole idea, and it hadn't even been an hour since Katara had gone into the forest.

_She hasn't needed any more rope for a while either..._ For some reason, the slack on the line made him nervous.

But they'd agreed to an hour before he could start to pull her back out, and he was going to stick to that. There wasn't much point in making agreements if you just went around breaking them. Zuko sighed, staring at the rope dolefully. "Maybe I should go in next time," he muttered.

As if Katara would ever let him.

_I wonder how Mai is doing._ He suddenly wished she could've come with them. It would've made the forced inaction a lot less frustrating; at least he would've had someone to talk to. The only other 'person' he had around now was Hei Bai.

Zuko glanced over at the forest spirit, who sat patiently on his haunches nearby. He was watching the bamboo, but gave no sign that they were nearing the end of the hour or that Katara might be returning. His face was an animal's, expressionless and unfathomable.

Not exactly the best company.

Still, it was better than nothing. "So, uh..." Zuko scratched at the back of his head, watching the bear carefully. "I guess you probably don't see a lot of humans around here. You know, this being the Spirit World and all..."

Hei Bai tilted his head toward Zuko, regarding him with glittering black eyes.

Zuko let his hand fall, and shrugged awkwardly. "Well, I guess that's obvious."

There was a moment of poignant silence.

"So..." That trailed off into nothing; really, he'd just wanted to say _something_ - he hadn't quite worked out what yet. "Yeah. Right. I probably should've figured out what I was going to talk about before saying anything," he muttered, under his breath.

Hei Bai turned his face back toward the forest.

_Can't say I blame you..._ Zuko sighed again, shoulders slumping.

Had it really not been an hour yet?

Maybe it would be a good idea to pull in some of the extra slack on the line. Zuko frowned, mulling the idea over for a moment. Sure, it was possible that he might end up having to give it right back again, but at least when the time came to pull her back out, he wouldn't have to pull back a bunch of loose cord beforehand.

_Well, it can't make too much difference either way..._ Moving slowly and carefully - he didn't want to disturb Katara yet - Zuko began to pull back the knotted vines.

It was a little surprising that the first few pulls didn't have any noticeable effect on the limp nature of the rope. _What the heck is she doing, backtracking?_ Zuko frowned again, puzzled at first and then increasingly alarmed as he continued to feel no resistance. _Or..._

Or was she just not attached to the other end any more?

That thought was ugly enough to prompt him into increasing the speed at which he was pulling back the makeshift cord. There was a knot of dread forming at the pit of his stomach, and it pressed at him until he finally abandoned any pretence of keeping up with the spirit of what they were doing and just gathered up the vines as quickly as he possibly could.

_This is bad... this is really, really - _

Hei Bai suddenly rose ponderously from his crouch and made a curious noise - just as the bamboo near where Zuko's rope entered the forest rustled and Katara pushed her way free of it, the other end of the vine in one hand and Aang in the other.

The relief that struck him at that point was so great that Zuko couldn't help slouching, and the cord he had been desperately pulling in fell from his suddenly nerveless fingers. "You found him!"

Katara had halted in her tracks and was staring at him as if he'd gone mad - she blinked, then shook her head, as if clearing it of some sort of fog. "... Zuko?" she managed after a moment of obvious disorientation. Her voice was small and confused.

_Ah, right - the memories thing._ "Who were you expecting?"

"I - I don't - " Her breath caught in her throat, and she looked over her shoulder suddenly, her expression oddly reminding him of a cornered animal's. "_Aang_," she gasped - and then, for no reason at all that he could grasp, her entire face went scarlet.

"K-Katara!" Somehow, it almost seemed like Aang's was even redder; the two of them stared at each other, wide-eyed and guilty-faced, until Zuko grew embarrassed enough to break into the moment with a loud cough.

_Enough is enough._

Aang looked over at him, blinked, and then raised an eyebrow. "Zuko?" There was obvious - and probably justified - confusion on his face. "How - ?"

Another one of those strange noises from Hei Bai interrupted him; the great panda padded over and touched his nose to Aang's forehead.

"Wha - ?" The rest of whatever he had been about to ask vanished right along with him in a flash of silver light.

Zuko scratched his head. "That was... sudden," he commented.

Katara continued to stare at the place where Aang had been, her cheeks still stained with red. Zuko regarded her curiously - and noticed for the first time that the back of her shirt was covered in dirt and her hair even had a couple of small twigs matted into it.

_Oh._ His eyebrows rose. "Didn't you say you wanted to wait?"

She finally turned and looked at him again, face still blazing and eyes flashing with irritation. "I don't want to hear it," she muttered, and marched stiffly back towards their guide.

Zuko rolled his eyes upward. _Yeah, I'm probably better off not knowing anyway._

* * *

Aang had come back from the Spirit World several times, and he thought he'd gotten an idea of how it felt to sink back into his own body. It was always pretty sudden, leaving him with a sense of disorientation for a moment or two.

But this time... it wasn't sudden. It was slow. He couldn't see or hear or feel anything, and he had the irrational impression that he was literally cramming himself back in, like the space he was trying to fit into was full of some thick liquid and he had to force it all out before he could squirm back in.

And then of course, when he was back and opening his eyes and recovering from that moment of dizziness, the first thing he saw was a huge chunk of stone floor flying at his face.

"Whoa!" Only his instincts saved him; Aang dodged the slab, ducked around two others that followed, and landed into a low crouch, staring around wildly. His eyes caught on a familiar form. "Hold it, Toph!" He yelped, dropping forward and catching himself on his hands as another chunk of flying debris nearly brained him. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Twinkle-Toes!" The assault stopped, and he caught sight of his earthbending teacher on the other side of what looked like some kind of hastily constructed fortification. She dropped the rock she'd been about to hurl his way with a 'thud'. "You're back!"

"About time!" Sokka added, from beside her. He lowered the point of his sword, shooting Aang an irritated look. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to fight against you?"

"Hey, I was doing most of the fighting."

"I did _some_!"

Aang pushed himself back into a standing position, still feeling a bit disoriented. There was a lingering voice at the back of his mind - a kind of angry, disjointed wail... He shook his head firmly, and it vanished. "You guys were fighting me?" He raised an eyebrow at them, sparing only a brief glance for the war-zone that had been his room. "Why? What happened?"

They exchanged glances, and then Sokka ventured, "You... kind of got possessed by a spirit. Or, well, your body did."

"Really?" So that was where that spirit had gone. Aang felt a chill run down his spine at the thought. _All of this, just so she could steal my body and go running around in the real world?_ It was pretty creepy to think about. "I guess it's a good thing I made it back in time."

"Yeah, making a crazy entrance as usual." Toph lowered the remains of the wall that separated them from him with a quick motion and a loud rumbling noise. "I guess this means Katara and the others tracked you down somehow."

_Katara._ Aang felt his cheeks grow hot. "Yeah... tracked me down." Every moment of what had happened between them in that forest seemed like it was imprinted on his brain in vivid detail. Nothing at all had gone the way he'd imagined it. It shouldn't have been so rushed, and there were so many things he'd wanted to do differently... But more than that, he'd wanted it to be special. And, well, remembering the expressions on her face and how she'd looked at him, somehow he felt like it had been. "That's what she did. I mean, _all_ she did. Nothing else. Just... your usual tracking down." He summoned up a weak grin.

"O-kaaaay." Sokka shot him a weird look. "Anyway, what happened to you? Why were you gone for so long?"

"It's a long story." He rubbed the back of his head, feeling sheepish. "I should wait until Katara gets here." He swallowed, trying to make his next words seem casual. "Where - Where is Katara, anyway?"

"She didn't tell you?" The older boy shrugged, finally sheathing his sword. "She and Zuko and Iroh went to Senlin Village to try and get Hei Bai to take to them to the Spirit World so they could find you. Which I assume must have worked?"

"Uh... I guess..." That explained why she was in the Spirit World - and why Hei Bai and Zuko had been waiting around outside of that forest. But still... Senlin Village? "How long was I gone for?"

Sokka frowned. "Oh, about... two days?"

"_Two days_?" Aang stared at him. "Seriously?" He felt his eyebrows come together; it was somehow hard to wrap his head around the idea. "It felt longer than that."

Must've been all the different dreams he'd been having.

"You're telling me," Toph grumbled, crossing her arms. "If there's a more boring job than watching over your sorry butt for two days straight, I don't wanna hear about it."

He managed an apologetic grin. "Sorry. I'll try not to get captured for so long next time."

"Yeah, you'd better." Sokka spoiled the effect of his words by grinning, and then clapped him heartily on the shoulder. "Good to have you back, buddy."

"Thanks." It was hard not to be distracted, though... Aang glanced out the window. "So... Senlin Village, huh?"

"Yup." The tone of Sokka's voice indicated that he was blissfully ignorant of his younger friend's anxiety. "It should only take them about two days to get back."

_Yeah. _Only_ two days._ Aang let out a low, dejected breath. The moment he'd seen Katara in the forest, not remembering ever having met her before... It was like he'd just come out of that iceberg. He'd fallen for her, again - at first sight, _again_. That feeling had to be imprinted on his soul or something; it was like he was born to love Katara, no matter what the circumstances.

It was both comforting and a little scary.

But at least there didn't seem to be much doubt left that she felt some attraction to him - she pretty much had to, or she wouldn't have done, well, _that_ with him. She'd even been the one to push for it. He'd been so afraid of offending her or scaring her off, and then she'd just gone ahead and taken charge while he was busy being indecisive.

Not that he was complaining.

Still, he was already anxious to talk to her. What had she thought about it? Had it been okay for her? Her reactions seemed to indicate that she'd enjoyed it, but it wasn't like she'd... yeah. He was going to have to fix that. Next time, right?

He really, really wanted there to be a next time. Preferably soon.

Of course, he wasn't even likely to get the chance to ask her any time soon, with those two days of travel in between them. Aang resisted the urge to groan with frustration, eyeing the empty blue sky to the west.

_It's going to be a long wait..._

* * *

It was obvious to anyone paying attention that there was something on Katara's mind. She didn't act any differently and she wasn't short-tempered the way she often got when something was bothering her, but Zuko noticed that she somehow became inexplicably busy whenever the subject of Aang came up.

Particularly when it involved their recent adventure.

"I suspect it would be better not to ask," his uncle responded when he discreetly brought up the subject of their traveling companion's obvious evasion.

That struck Zuko as very wise advice.

He had his suspicions about what was causing it - not to mention the reason Katara tended to stare thoughtfully off into the distance while mounted on Appa's neck, often with her lip caught between her teeth and the reins held forgotten in her lap. She'd as much as confirmed it after Aang had vanished back in the Spirit World, and despite her refusal to talk about it, only an idiot would fail to figure it out.

_Those two probably could've saved us all a lot of trouble if they'd just gone ahead and done this to begin with._

It wasn't just that, though... "I can't believe I was waiting that whole time while they were in there having sex," he'd muttered to himself more than once during the course of their trip, frequently prompting strange looks from his uncle. Sure, their memories were gone, but come on! That was _really_ too much.

His annoyance couldn't last, though - especially not as they flew over the walls of Ba Sing Se and began the descent towards Aang's house. Somehow, the construction of the house looked strangely thrown-together, as if it had been gutted and then reconstructed while they were gone - obviously, there was a story there - but Zuko was more interested in the people coming out of the front door to greet them.

Or, more specifically, one particular person.

"Mai!" He slid free of Appa's saddle almost before they hit the ground, crossing to her without hesitation and catching her up in his arms. She was smiling just a little, but returned his kiss with as much eagerness as he could have hoped for. _My future wife,_ he reminded himself with satisfaction - and no small amount of wonder. "How did things go while I was gone?" he asked, breaking apart from her with some reluctance.

"Same as always." She shook her head at him. "You were only gone for four days. What did you think would happen?"

He shrugged, a bit sheepishly. "Well, you never know..."

"So..." Toph's voice caught his attention; she was addressing his uncle, who was taking a little more time to make his way to the ground again. "I'm guessing maybe you guys have some more to add to what little we managed to get out of him." She hooked her thumb over her shoulder.

Zuko followed the line she was pointing out, and noticed that Aang's attention wasn't on their conversation at all - he was looking at Katara, who had busied herself with Appa and seemed to be ignoring her brother's attempts to get her attention. The expression on the younger boy's face was a somewhat comical mix of anticipation and apprehension.

He had to resist the urge to smile. _I don't miss those days..._

Katara turned then, waving a vague, irritated hand in her brother's direction before meeting Aang's gaze squarely. "We need to talk," she announced abruptly, and then stepped forward and took hold of his wrist to drag him back into the somewhat rough-looking sanctuary of the Avatar's house. The door shut quite firmly behind them, and the sound of the bolt being thrown was clearly audible.

"Guess that means we're not invited," Toph quipped, with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Sokka directed a wry look at the closed door, and then sighed.

"We," Mai said under her breath, staring up into Zuko's eyes with the smirk that never failed to make his heart begin to pound, "_don't_ need to talk." She turned then, catching his hand and looking back over her shoulder at him. "Unless you need me to explain just how you're going to repay me for covering for you while you were away."

Zuko didn't even bother to fight against the goofy smile that he knew was spreading across his face as he let her lead him away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Inertia**

**Part Nine**

Sokka looked down at Toph's reclining form on the steps outside of Iroh's teashop with a raised eyebrow. "You know, I'm getting this strange sense we've done something like this before."

"Gee, you think?" She tilted her head in his direction lazily. "Us talking outside at night is not exactly a fresh new idea."

"You know what I mean." He waved aside her distinction, taking a seat just a few steps up from her. "Out here was where I totally pissed you off without knowing how, before this whole thing started."

"Yeah, well, you were kind of a jerk." She tucked her hands behind her head comfortably. "Even if you didn't know it."

"Thanks. I can totally feel the love." He leaned back on his elbows, shooting her a brief sidelong glance. "So, we're cool, right? You're still okay to be around Suki and me, even though - ?"

"Yeah, it's cool." Toph smiled a bit, without adding a mocking undertone. "I've been around you guys this long without going nuts, so I think I can manage it. Not like me planting my lips on you changes any of that."

"True, but now I know you wanted to," Sokka pointed out, spreading his hands as much as he could with the position they were in. "You don't think that's going to make things awkward?"

"Nope. Well, not for me." She quirked an eyebrow at him. "But if you feel awkward? Totally not my problem."

He frowned at her. "Well, it is _your_ fault. Partly, anyway. You know, with the kissing out of nowhere and all..."

"I admit, it was a spur of the moment thing." Toph shrugged, leaning further back against the stairs. "Not my best plan. I pretty much regretted it right at first - especially when you decided to be a complete idiot afterwards." She shot him a pointed look.

Sokka felt himself going red. "Didn't we agree never to speak of that again?"

"Whatever." She waved a dismissive hand. "Anyway, you'll have plenty of time to get used to it, since we probably won't be seeing each other for a while."

He stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said: we won't be seeing each other for a while." Toph's voice was typically nonchalant, and her expression was bland. "I want to travel on my own for a while. You guys are all pairing up, and, to be perfectly honest, it's starting to get kind of nauseating. Iroh offered to let me stay with him while I get things sorted out, and then, well..." She shrugged again. "We'll see where I end up."

"You serious?" Sokka felt a sudden pang at the thought. Toph was one of his closest friends; the thought of not seeing her all the time was... well, it stunk! "You really think you have to do this?"

"I don't just think - I know I do." She rolled her eyes at his obvious dismay. "Don't be so dramatic about it. This doesn't have anything to do with you; it's about me. I need a little time to myself, and with you guys going all domestic? It's just not giving me the right mood."

"But - But - " He was aware, distantly, that he was being kind of childish about this, but just couldn't help it. "That doesn't mean you should just _abandon_ us!" he blurted, after struggling with the words for a few seconds.

"Get over it." She raised an eyebrow at him. "It's not like I'll never see you again. I'll make sure to drop in here and there - to keep you on your toes, if nothing else. I just can't be around every second. Much as I like hanging out with you guys, tagging along while you all make googly eyes at each other is really getting old."

"Oh yeah? Well - " Sokka opened his mouth to argue, realized he had nothing to say, and shut it again. "You know what? Whatever. You're just gonna do what you feel like whether I like it or not, aren't you?"

Toph grinned then. "Pretty much."

"Well - well, then fine. Whatever. See if I care." He sank back against the stairs, with an aggrieved sigh. Somehow, deep down, he knew Toph had a point. It was probably hard feeling like the odd man out, especially with him bringing up the marriage proposal and all... "I just wish you weren't leaving after - you know - _that_. We could've had a better goodbye."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that..." She stretched then, with a casual air that looked almost deliberate. "And I kinda think thing this was all a good thing. In a way."

Sokka stared at her again, feeling his mouth hang open. "A _good_ thing?" he repeated, incredulously. "What about this whole stupid messy business was _good_?"

"Think about it." Toph waved a hand vaguely, turning her face toward him again. "You're more convinced than ever that you want to marry Suki, instead of half thinking you need to give up on her. Right?"

He thought about it for a moment - his recent pondering on his original proposal and how he'd planned to revise it. And then there was his determination to figure out what was behind her hesitation, and how they could work out whatever it was. Neither of those had been there before all of this started. "Okay, maybe that's true but - "

"And then there's me," she interrupted him, and that smile was back - the sincere, no-string-attached, no mocking intended smile. "I've been holding onto this crush for, what? Three years now?" She seemed unconcerned about that fact. "But now I know what it's like to kiss you, and I gotta be honest." She pulled a face. "It's not that great."

Sokka felt his eyebrows come down. "You saying I'm a bad kisser?"

"No - well, maybe, but that's not the point." Toph shrugged a third time. "I'm just ready to get over it."

"Oh." He narrowed his eyes a little, trying to figure out if he still needed to be offended - then gave up. "Okay, I guess that's all right."

"Duh." She tucked her hands back behind her head and turned up to the sky again with a satisfied sort of look on her face.

The answering smile spreading on Sokka's face felt somehow similar. "Yeah, duh, yourself," he told her, and turned his own eyes back up toward the clouds.

* * *

Katara couldn't say she was surprised when she turned from locking the front door of Aang's house and found him watching her with a mix of apprehension and anxiety. "Sorry if I surprised you," she offered, feeling her own determined expression soften into a smile. "I just didn't want the others listening in or anything."

"It's okay." Aang relaxed a little at that, returning her smile. "I kind of wanted to talk to you too; I just wasn't expecting you to - well, you know." He shrugged.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't think Sokka would've shut up if I hadn't."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"So, Aang - "

"Katara, I - "

This was so typical; Katara had to bite her lip against sudden, irrational laughter. "Okay, you go ahead," she suggested.

"Sure." He rubbed at the back of his head, obviously nervous, and she couldn't help but find the gesture oddly endearing. "I thought about this a lot while I was waiting for you to get here - about how we were fighting, back before all of this stated. And... I want to apologize. I mean," he added, before she could cut in, "none of what you said made any sense. I still don't really get it. But it's not like I let you explain or anything, so" - he shrugged again, and favoured her with a small, apologetic smile - "that's probably why."

"No, I think you were right the first time - it didn't make any sense." Katara squirmed under his curious gaze and looked away, still feeling a bit embarrassed about the whole business. "I just didn't realize it until I met you in the Spirit World, and then - well, you know what happened then." She could feel herself blushing faintly. "Without having grown up with you, I never would've thought you were too young. And that made me realize that I was getting carried away trying to protect you. I just... wasn't giving you enough credit." She took in a long breath and met his eyes again, squarely. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." He regarded her just as guiltily. "I could've listened to you, instead of getting all upset. I mean, I'm sure you had your reasons."

"Yeah... but they were stupid reasons." Katara sighed, a little frustrated at how difficult it was to express her regret over her earlier behaviour. Even after all the thought she'd given it on the way back... "I should've listened to you too. I guess it's just hard to admit to myself that things change. _We've_ changed. And things between us have changed, too." She looked up a bit hesitantly. "In a good way."

Aang studied her for a moment, and then tentatively started, "So, that time in the forest - "

"I don't regret it, if that's what you're thinking." She had to get that understood right at the start. "Do you?"

"No! No way! Of course not!" He shook his head furiously, and then stared at her, looking nervous all over again. "But - uh - it totally wasn't what I'd imagined."

Katara had to agree there. _I wouldn't change it, though. It just... worked, somehow._ "Would you do it differently a second time?" she challenged.

"Well..." He flushed, but still met her eyes, almost sheepishly. "I think next time I could make things better for you. I mean, it _was_ pretty quick, and you didn't even - uh. You know..."

"Oh. Yeah." She felt the heat reach her own cheeks, and managed a small smile in return. "Aang, honestly, it was still good. I - I liked it." It was hard to make the admission, somehow. Even now, after everything.

_Is this ever going to _not_ feel awkward?_

"Yeah, but I think you'll like it even better next time." His gaze was earnest. "And - well - I kind of still haven't seen you naked. Not for real, anyway," he muttered, and rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging uncomfortably at the confused look she shot him. "I'd like to, though."

"Me too." That faint shadowy glimpse she'd caught during their time in the forest still haunted her brain. "I mean, I want to see you," she clarified, and shrugged a little, still smiling. "This time."

The grin that lit his face in response was typically bright. "Katara, I love you!" he blurted all of a sudden, full of sincerity and enthusiasm as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her fervently.

Katara continued smiling against his lips, then pulled back slightly, staring up at him with heavy-lidded eyes. A wicked sort of idea had struck her. "You know what?" she said, almost conversationally. "We should get married."

His eyes went wide - so wide that the whites of them seemed to glow in the dim light. "M-Married?" he croaked out; obviously, he hadn't expected it. "You - You think?"

She shrugged - maybe a bit theatrically. "I'm ready when you are." And then she laughed, pulling him into a tight hug. "But I don't mind waiting."

* * *

The End


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